[sldev] 64bit of sl?

[Kent Quirk]

On Dec 2, 2009, at 9:59 AM, Stickman wrote:

>> Doubling? Now you make no sense.
>>
>> The code is exactly the same as currently, there would be some
>> time needed to get it rolling, but after that 64bit virtually
>> needs no extra maintenance time.
>
> I make no sense because I'm uneducated on the topic. You have educated
> me, thank you.
>
> In an ideal world, everyone on the sldev list is knowledgeable in
> programming. In practice, a lot of us are directed to the list for
> various other reasons not involving programming. And a few of us even
> stick around to confuse people who actually know what they're talking
> about.
>
> Thanks for taking the time to spell it out for me. Next time I'll try
> to actually ask a question instead of veiling it in a confusing
> statement.

Except that the creation of the code is only a small fraction of the  
problem. For each new build we support in an "official" mainline  
viewer, we have to:

* Set up our automated build environment to build it, which includes  
configuring and deploying machines to do the build (and then maintain  
that forever)
* Acquire machines and QA expertise to be able to test it adequately
* Allocate QA resources to do a regression test on every release going  
forward
* Allocate release team resources to document and maintain the release
* Add support team capabilities to handle the new release

We do it from time to time, but it's a significant allocation of  
resources and requires coordination across the company.

Snowglobe has a different set of issues, and it's a bit easier.

	Q