[Bioperl-l] RE: Bio::FeatureHolderI interface confusion (Hilmar Lapp)

[Nathan (Nat) Goodman]

Hi Hilmar

> Interfaces in perl to me have nothing to do with compile time
> whatever, they mostly provide for contracts

The point that you're missing is that BioPerl classes break contracts
regularly whenever the developer feels like it.  Many interface classes are
far too grand or too idiocyncratic to be usefully implemented by subclasses
except the first one that the original developer came up with.

> state how much that's going to destroy backward compatibility

Again, BioPerl breaks backward compatibility with great regularity.  The
problem is that it's too easy for code to be added to the core library.
There should be a CPAN-like repository where new code lives until it proves
itself to be generally useful, and where old code can migrate when it grows
obsolete.

Best,
Nat