Re: GNU Make 4.4 released!

[Paul Smith]

On Mon, 2022-11-07 at 20:40 +0900, KO Myung-Hun wrote:
> May I take over OS/2 port maintenance ?
> For this, what should I do ?

   1. Subscribe to this mailing list and announce your intention to
      work on this (to prevent possible duplication of effort).
   2. Download the latest release (currently GNU Make 4.4).
   3. Get it to compile on OS/2 and, if possible, run the regression
      test suite (if you have Perl on OS/2).
   4. If you can't run the regression test suite, then generate your
      own set of tests (for example some other software that you can
      use GNU Make to build, especially software that makes use of GNU
      Make features).
   5. Once you're satisfied that it works properly, post a patch or set
      of patches for the changes you needed to make to get it working,
      to this mailing list.
   6. Likely there will need to be a conversation about the best way to
      address various issues so be prepared to rework your changes if
      necessary.
   7. If your changes are at all extensive, you will need to fill out
      paperwork to assign copyright for your changes to the FSF, and
      your employer (if they have rights to your work which most do)
      will need to approve this as well. Contact me to get the needed
      paperwork.
   8. Commit to testing and updating the port when new prereleases of
      GNU Make are announced.

That's pretty much it.

You should consider carefully whether it's really worthwhile to make
this effort. Presumably there is already some version of GNU Make that
works on OS/2 and can be used there which satisfies all current needs.
That version obviously will continue to be available: no one is
suggesting changing published versions.

Most of the new features available in GNU Make, such as Guile support,
dynamic object loading, jobserver, output sync, etc. almost certainly
can't be made to work on OS/2 and so will just need to be disabled. So
the question is, is keeping this port up-to-date a good use of
resources?

Of course, only the OS/2 users can answer this question.

If you decide it is worthwhile, and you have the bandwidth and ability
to do it, then welcome aboard!