Re: Lua Team - The Legacy

[Lorenzo Donati <lorenzodonatibz@...>]

On 22/03/2019 16:25, Italo Maia wrote:
> While discussing at the docker official images project
> <https://github.com/docker-library/official-images/issues/3404#issuecomment-475452237>
> the addition of lua images, which would be very helpful for large scale
> projects (coff coff lapis) and library testing, *Tianon Gravi* cooked up
> some very interesting questions regarding the Lua project development
> continuinity.
>
> I think this was discussed to some degree in the past but I would like to
> shed some more light to the issue. I know that, even if Roberto is the main
> core developer and there are three at the moment, students, ex-students and
> others help improve the language by spoting problems in the documentation,
> making suggestions to the implementation and providing patches.
>
> One thing that I would like to know more is about is if there are plans for
> the language growth and legacy. Big companies usually have to prepare
> people to take over positions when they become vacant by any reason
> (company needs more people for that task or the person fall sick or
> retired).
>
> Are there plans for Lua to have more core developers or a guidance for new
> core developers? Like, "if you plan to become a developer of the language,
> this should be your mindset and compromises".
>
> I'm fully aware this is not a trivial question nor has a trivial answer,
> but do believe it should be discussed, given other languages usually more
> people involved (which is not necessarely better) and that might affect the
> perception of new developers.
>
> Thanks for reading this long message.

I had thought about that for a while, too.

I've always thought that the open-source/close-development model used by 
Lua team has, together with many advantages (e.g. no design-by-committee 
bloat), some serious drawbacks: what you are talking about is one, IMO.

Unless PUC Rio already has a plan for that, of course.


Of course I don't know when, say, Roberto (I think he is the older 
member of the team, IIRC) is going to retire, but since Lua copyright is 
by PUC and not by Roberto&C. themselves, I don't think they have the 
right to maintain ownership of the source code, in that case.

Well, probably PUC is not so dumb enough (I hope!) to NOT letting 
Roberto lead the team also when he retires, if he so desire. 
Universities around the world can make agreements with a professor 
emeritus in order to keep him/her doing outstanding work.

But again, not every institution is smart, and dumbass 
bureaucrats/managers hide everywhere. I've seen myself (good) 
research/industrial projects ditched (or left to die by starvation, or 
left to fall into pieces - choose your poison!) because just a single 
senior key developer/engineer/designer/lead retired or changed his/her job.

So, in the end, the questions you pose are quite meaningful, IMO.

I hope Lua team has something (good) to say about that.

Cheers!

-- Lorenzo.