Survey Time

[Mark S. Miller]

As I mentioned in my last release notes 
http://eros.cis.upenn.edu/~majordomo/e-lang/0670.html , E 0.8.3 is a 
candidate for approximately the release we'll be promoting to the larger 
world.  Accordingly, I encouraged y'all to download it and try it out, and 
give me feedback.  Your feedback is very important: you are my early 
adopters, if anyone is.

If you didn't download, install, or try it out, your feedback is especially 
important.  Please tell me everything you can about why not.  If the answer 
is only "I've been too busy", I'd still like to find that out.  Please 
respond directly to me, and I'll summarize to the list.  (Of course, if you 
prefer to respond publicly, please do.)  The following questions are only 
suggestions for feedback to provide.  Just tell me whatever you can about 
your experiences using or not using E.


Have you downloaded 0.8.3?  Any earlier release?

Have you installed any release of E?

Have you tried it out?

What's the largest program you've tried to write?

Have you run it?

Are there any projects you're thinking about using E for?

For all "no"s, what could have made a difference?

What are your expectations for E's future?

How should I be managing the E open-source process differently?

Did you get stuck on lack of documentation?


In the last release notes, I made a commitment to only change the language 
from now on in ways that try to preserve your investment in E code.  
Not quite a commitment to only make upward compatible changes, but along 
those lines.  This commitment also produces the standard loss of 
flexibility in continuing the evolution of the language.  

Did this commitment make you more or less likely to start playing with the 
language (whether or not you actually have started)?  Why?

Do you feel it's too early for this commitment?

Does the commitment need to be stronger before you'll consider playing with 
the language?

Since the release notes, we've come up with some ideas for non-upwards 
compatible improvements to the language, which I'll explain in further email 
to the list.  Before hearing the specifics, how do you react to hearing that 
such proposals may be considered?  Am I destroying the credibility of the 
earlier commitment by even raising this question?


In "E Priorities & Triage" 
http://eros.cis.upenn.edu/~majordomo/e-lang/0657.html , I listed some major 
features I proposed remain missing till after the ready-for-promotion stage. 
These missing features include persistence, compiler, and debugger. Also in 
need of fixing is Java's horrible startup time, which can only be fixed by 
finding a better platform (hopefully, a better jvm).

For each of these, how would its completion change your likelihood to start 
playing with the language?  To try using it for real?

Should I postpone promotion until certain of these missing features are 
completed?  Which ones?

Can you help this happen in a timely manner?  Either money or coding time?  
Writing?  (Please don't be shy about saying "no".)

Are there existing features in E you'd like to see thrown away?

If these were thrown away, how would that change your likelihood of playing 
with the language?  Why?


Since you are one of the people on the E list, you are vastly more interested 
in E than most of our target audience will be.  Therefore, I'd guess you're 
also an easier "customer" to "sell" on starting to use the language. Before 
I proceed to evaluate your response on that assumption, is there any reason 
you might instead be a harder sell than our average target audience member?


Again, please don't take the above questions too seriously -- just tell me 
what you can.  I'd much rather have a short note off the top of your head, 
than to have you file this survey with the best of intentions to get back to 
it when you have the time.  All feedback will be greatly appreciated -- 
don't worry if it's discouraging.  Ignorance of the true situation would 
only result in greater discouragement later.  Thanks in advance.


	Cheers,
	--MarkM