[CMake] CMake with Lua Experiment

[Brandon Van Every]

On Nov 27, 2007 4:02 PM, Juan Sanchez <Juan.Sanchez at amd.com> wrote:
>
> My only desire is that we move on to another language better than the
> one we have now.  Lua seems to fit the bill.

Just realized an interesting argument *not* to use an off-the-shelf
language.  Over the long haul, you lose control over the installed
base.  From the SCons FAQ:
http://www.scons.org/faq.php#SS_3_6

3.6. Why is SCons written for Python version 1.5.2?

Python 1.5.2 is still in widespread use on many systems, and was the
version shipped by Red Hat as late as Red Hat 7.3. By writing the
internal code so that it works on these systems, we're making it as
easy as possible for more sites to install and work with SCons on as
wide a variety of systems as possible.

"Why don't people just upgrade their Python version?" you may ask.
Yes, Python's packaging and installation make it easy for people to
upgrade versions, but that's not the only barrier.

In commercial development environments, any new operating system or
language version must usually be accompanied by extensive tests to
make sure that the upgrade hasn't introduced subtle problems or
regressions into the code being produced. Consequently, upgrading is
an expensive proposition that many sites can't undertake just because
a new tool like SCons might require it. When faced with that sort of
choice, it's much less risky and expensive for them to just walk away
from trying the new tool.


Cheers,
Brandon Van Every