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On 22/03/2019 16:25, Italo Maia wrote:
While discussing at the docker official images project
<https://github.com/docker-library/official-images/issues/3404#issuecomment-475452237>
the addition of lua images, which would be very helpful for large scale
projects (coff coff lapis) and library testing, *Tianon Gravi* cooked up
some very interesting questions regarding the Lua project development
continuinity.

I think this was discussed to some degree in the past but I would like to
shed some more light to the issue. I know that, even if Roberto is the main
core developer and there are three at the moment, students, ex-students and
others help improve the language by spoting problems in the documentation,
making suggestions to the implementation and providing patches.

One thing that I would like to know more is about is if there are plans for
the language growth and legacy. Big companies usually have to prepare
people to take over positions when they become vacant by any reason
(company needs more people for that task or the person fall sick or
retired).

Are there plans for Lua to have more core developers or a guidance for new
core developers? Like, "if you plan to become a developer of the language,
this should be your mindset and compromises".

I'm fully aware this is not a trivial question nor has a trivial answer,
but do believe it should be discussed, given other languages usually more
people involved (which is not necessarely better) and that might affect the
perception of new developers.

Thanks for reading this long message.


I had thought about that for a while, too.

I've always thought that the open-source/close-development model used by Lua team has, together with many advantages (e.g. no design-by-committee bloat), some serious drawbacks: what you are talking about is one, IMO.

Unless PUC Rio already has a plan for that, of course.


Of course I don't know when, say, Roberto (I think he is the older member of the team, IIRC) is going to retire, but since Lua copyright is by PUC and not by Roberto&C. themselves, I don't think they have the right to maintain ownership of the source code, in that case.

Well, probably PUC is not so dumb enough (I hope!) to NOT letting Roberto lead the team also when he retires, if he so desire. Universities around the world can make agreements with a professor emeritus in order to keep him/her doing outstanding work.

But again, not every institution is smart, and dumbass bureaucrats/managers hide everywhere. I've seen myself (good) research/industrial projects ditched (or left to die by starvation, or left to fall into pieces - choose your poison!) because just a single senior key developer/engineer/designer/lead retired or changed his/her job.

So, in the end, the questions you pose are quite meaningful, IMO.

I hope Lua team has something (good) to say about that.

Cheers!

-- Lorenzo.