[vtk-developers] BandedPolyDataContourFilter failes to compile on Ubuntu 14

[Sean McBride]

On Thu, 31 Jan 2019 20:37:32 -0500, David Thompson via vtk-developers said:

>I'm not sure it is a good idea to support old compilers and distributions:
>
>1. Ubuntu 14.04 LTS will lose support from Canonical in 3 months. I
>would be surprised if what is in git master is released by then. Why
>should we support platforms no longer supported by their distributor?

Is the compiler so tied to the OS?  Bill, can't you upgrade your compiler without updating your whole OS?

>2. If we keep forcing workarounds, the next time something breaks, then
>*it* will be the only compiler error. That pattern just keeps accruing
>technical debt. Ultimately, I believe that technical debt will push
>developers away from VTK so I want to avoid it.
>
>3. Not too long ago, it was common practice for systems in production
>use to never get patched (lest the patch break what was working).

Not that we (programmers collectively) have solved the problem of patches always breaking things that work.  It's still the norm.  :(

>However, security issues and increased connectivity prevalent today has
>pretty much put a stop to this practice and I think that translates into
>a much weaker argument for supporting older systems.

I largely agree, but there are exceptions.

Perhaps less on linux, but newer versions of macOS often drop support for older hardware.  So it's not always easy or cheap to just keep all software up-to-date.

Cheers,

-- 
Sean