[gentoo-dev] Last rites: app-cdr/webcdwriter

[gentoo-dev] Last rites: app-cdr/webcdwriter

[James Le Cuirot]

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# James Le Cuirot <chewi@gentoo.org> (26 Jan 2016)
# No new release since 2008. Removal in 30 days.
app-cdr/webcdwriter

-- 
James Le Cuirot (chewi)
Gentoo Linux Developer

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Re: [gentoo-dev] Last rites: app-cdr/webcdwriter

[Peter Stuge]

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James Le Cuirot wrote:
> # James Le Cuirot <chewi@gentoo.org> (26 Jan 2016)
> # No new release since 2008. Removal in 30 days.
> app-cdr/webcdwriter

Is there a problem with it? I don't use it and have no interest in
this particular package but merely lack of release is not a valid
reason to remove the ebuild if everything else is all right. If it
isn't, then maybe that needs to be added to the lastrite comment?


Thanks

//Peter

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Re: [gentoo-dev] Last rites: app-cdr/webcdwriter

[James Le Cuirot]

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On Tue, 26 Jan 2016 21:55:15 +0100
Peter Stuge <peter@stuge.se> wrote:

> James Le Cuirot wrote:
> > # James Le Cuirot <chewi@gentoo.org> (26 Jan 2016)
> > # No new release since 2008. Removal in 30 days.
> > app-cdr/webcdwriter  
> 
> Is there a problem with it? I don't use it and have no interest in
> this particular package but merely lack of release is not a valid
> reason to remove the ebuild if everything else is all right. If it
> isn't, then maybe that needs to be added to the lastrite comment?

I must admit that I had to think twice about this one given its unusual
nature. The overriding factor is that there is tons of dead Java
software in the tree and we're struggling to even keep up with the live
stuff. We're therefore trimming the fat down to a more manageable size.
This package was brought to my attention because bugs had been assigned
to the optical media herd, which has now been disbanded. There are only
3 open bugs, none of them serious, but apart from the lack of releases,
I considered several points:

 * It's presented as a Java web applet or web start application.
   Applets are all but outlawed these days. Web start isn't dead and
   you don't strictly need a browser to use it but this isn't exactly a
   popular way to launch applications.

 * I'd be very dubious of the security around something like this. Even
   actively maintained software has seen tons of security
   vulnerabilities lately, not least in the Java space.

 * Optical media is on the decline. My main development machine doesn't
   even have a burner any more so I can't easily test it.

 * It was designed around cdrecord, which has seen many new releases
   since then and may not be entirely compatible any more. The cdrkit
   fork (which I use) may also have similar issues. I'll admit this is
   purely speculation on my part.

 * It's fugly. ;) Seriously, no one like Java's Swing and even Oracle
   and co have put it on life support, fixing critical bugs only.

 * The ebuild doesn't look like much fun. The project uses autotools,
   which is rarely a good thing in Java land.

 * There may be cleaner ways to achieve the same goal. If it were me,
   I'd try ATA over Ethernet with regular burning software, though I'm
   not entirely sure it would work.

Am I off the hook now? ;)

-- 
James Le Cuirot (chewi)
Gentoo Linux Developer

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