[Asterisk-Dev] suggestions/discussion how to implement ISDN advice of charge (AOC) from low level channel driver through channels to the dialplan and back and to the cdr

[Kevin P. Fleming]

Frank Sautter wrote:

> patch regarding the bearer capability... :-/ (sorry but i'm a bit 
> annoyed to being retarded this much by the bugtracker process, 
> especially when there are different patches that have to be kept apart 
> and up to date)

I hear this from a number of people, and I just don't understand it at all.

When you post a patch to Mantis, you have to assume up front that it is 
_not_ going to get merged until people come along and help you get the 
job done (in 90% of the cases that are not simple bug fixes). That means 
you will have to babysit the patch, keep it up to date, and respond to 
queries from people who are interested in it and/or testing it.

If you have multiple patches in the works, especially for the same 
module, that makes the process that much more difficult, but the burden 
is always on _you_, not on the people who run the bugtracker.

Finally, even if you post a patch whose code is absolutely perfect and 
the implementation is ideal, there is no guarantee it will get merged 
into Asterisk proper in any specific time period (if at all). That is 
the nature of a community project, and it's the way that all OSS 
projects work. Have you ever watched how many times a relatively simple 
patch to the Linux kernel has to be posted, updated, re-posted, etc. 
until it's ready to be merged?

In summary: please don't try to blame the 'process' for the work 
required to post, update and monitor a patch's progress, unless you can 
propose an alternative system that will do what's required. This is not 
the fault of Mantis, the bug marshals, or even Mark (most of the time), 
it's just how projects work. If you aren't prepared to support your 
patches until they get merged or refused, then you either need to think 
twice about posting them or stop complaining when they go 'stale' 
because you haven't kept them up to date with CVS HEAD.

(And just so anyone reading this far knows, we are seriously discussing 
switching to a different SCM system (off of CVS) that will help 
developers keep their patches up to date, and will also make it easier 
for interested parties to be able to pull complete Asterisk trees with 
their patches incorporated. Stay tuned!)