[asterisk-dev] 1.4 and CDRs -- The Breaking Point

[Steve Murphy]

On Fri, 2009-02-06 at 09:03 -0600, John Lange wrote:
> On Thu, 2009-02-05 at 14:10 -0700, Steve Murphy wrote:
> > In short, I'm finding the current CDR system is too difficult
> > to maintain. I'd rather spend my time rewriting the system
> > into something that works as advertised, is simple to use,
> > meets user's expectations, and can be maintained and 
> > understood without an advanced post-doctorate degree.
> 
> Murf, I've commented on this topic many times before and as usual you
> have my full support. Proper call logging is a fundamental requirement
> of a softswitch/PBX system IMHO.
> 
> > I have promised to do what I can, but this can't go on.
> > I'm applying bandages to an architecture that needs to 
> > be rebuilt to get things right.  This is *software*, and
> > yes, I can fix *every* problem, but the cost
> > is way beyond what's reasonable.
> 
> Some have argued the entire Asterisk code base suffers from the same
> problem (see FreeSwitch).
> 
> By the way, before anyone gets in a twist; the above comment is not
> intended as a troll. Just pointing out that sometimes starting over is
> not as bad as it seems and can create positive results.

No twisting here, but in defense of Asterisk in general, I might 
toss in my opinion that actually, many things exist that
are elegantly done, and never will need any rewrite. Other
parts need a rewrite, and when the time and opportunity and demand
is right, they will be rewritten. I had one supervisor years ago 
that told me that you aren't going to close to doing it the right 
way until your third rewrite, and I've come to appreciate the truth 
of this over the years. (Thanks to Wendell Ruotsi!)

It's the same-old, same-old in the software world. Cost vs. benefit.
No one is omniscient, and the problems you encounter vs what you
possibly forsaw are two different things. The whole thing is evolving
and will come to perfection in fits and starts. And, usually before it
does, the playing field changes and chunks go into obsolescence.

The trick is to try to minimize the pain to users as you move on. 

murf

-- 
Steve Murphy <murf at digium.com>
Digium
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: smime.p7s
Type: application/x-pkcs7-signature
Size: 3227 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.digium.com/pipermail/asterisk-dev/attachments/20090207/24de606f/attachment.bin