[plt-scheme] PLanet should indicate which PLT version is required

This is a still a real problem.  I personally am not updating my packages on
PLaneT with anything that is not compatible with v3 because I have people
outside this core community using them is a semi-production setting and they
are using the released version of DrScheme.  I am reluctant to push them -
and in some cases I don't even know who they are - to upgrade to v4 because
it is still pre-release software.  [However, some of them need to upgrade to
v4 because it fixes a major problem in v372 with large memory footprint
programs.  BTW, Matthew, would it be possible to make a patch to v372 with
the 'ephemeral' object change you made to help DrScheme memory usage?]
I've worked hard to get PLT Scheme accepted as an analysis tool on some of
the (distributed, multi-organization) projects I'm working on.  Most had
been using Matlab or Python.  [I'll probably never win over the hardcore
Matlab users, but the Python users are a different story.]  But, we're at
the weird juncture between versions and I don't think it's being handled in
a way that is particular beneficial to the end users of the system - i.e.
users of systems developed in PLT Scheme as opposed to users of PLT Scheme
itself.
I know there is reluctance to do so, but we really need separate v3 and v4
PLaneT repositories.  One major advantage of v4, alluded to above, is that I
can actually run large analysis programs more than a couple times without
crashing - and they run faster.  [Of course if that were the only advantage
there would be no v4, just a patched v3.]  Obviously, v3 has the advantage
of stability - and all of my packages run there.  Being able to ensure that
end users can reliably run code with PLaneT packages in either v3 or v4 is
very important.

Sorry for rambling,
Doug

On Fri, Feb 29, 2008 at 8:53 AM, Eric Hanchrow <offby1 at blarg.net> wrote:

> Do you suppose the PLaneT web site could tell us if a given .plt package
> requires PLT v4 as opposed to v3?  I ask because, in the last few days,
> a new package showed up (sorry, I can't remember which), and it only
> worked with v4, but I had to discover that fact by trial and error.
> --
> Don't fall into the trap of writing everything as though it
> were a cell phone text message.
>        -- Karl Fogel, "Producing Open Souce Software"
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