--- title: 2019.04.12 type: docs --- # 2019.04.12 [Zulip topic.](https://rust-lang.zulipchat.com/#narrow/stream/131828-t-compiler/topic/steering.20meeting.202019.2E04.2E12.20.2358850) ## Announcements - [nikomatsakis](https://rust-lang.zulipchat.com/#narrow/stream/131828-t-compiler/topic/steering.20meeting.202019.2E04.2E12.20.2358850/near/163192566) has opened a [PR with a draft RFC](https://github.com/rust-lang/compiler-team/pull/52) on the compiler-team repository. This RFC describes adding a new level ("compiler team contributors") to recognize people who have been contributing regularly. It also tries to document a few things about members etc. Please give it a read! - [eddyb](https://rust-lang.zulipchat.com/#narrow/stream/131828-t-compiler/topic/steering.20meeting.202019.2E04.2E12.20.2358850/near/163193094) is nearing completion on their work on the symbol naming revamp. It [might even offer some performance improvements](https://rust-lang.zulipchat.com/#narrow/stream/131828-t-compiler/topic/steering.20meeting.202019.2E04.2E12.20.2358850/near/163193354). - [nikomatsakis](https://rust-lang.zulipchat.com/#narrow/stream/131828-t-compiler/topic/steering.20meeting.202019.2E04.2E12.20.2358850/near/163193402) mentioned that in the [wg-traits meeting on Monday](https://calendar.google.com/event?action=TEMPLATE&tmeid=NnViNzZxN252dGZ2ZHRvNTdnN2dpbGo2NjRfMjAxOTA0MTVUMTgwMDAwWiA2dTVycnRjZTZscnR2MDdwZmkzZGFtZ2p1c0Bn&tmsrc=6u5rrtce6lrtv07pfi3damgjus%40group.calendar.google.com&scp=ALL) we plan to discuss how the Chalk crates are setup and the work to refactor them to make them more friendly for the RLS etc. ## Main topic Our [main topic](https://rust-lang.zulipchat.com/#narrow/stream/131828-t-compiler/topic/steering.20meeting.202019.2E04.2E12.20.2358850/near/163193454) of the day was a **proposal to add a regular design meeting**: > So this was our plan for the main topic today: > > - After that we'll talk about my [proposal for a regular design meeting](https://gist.github.com/nikomatsakis/3afbec52758741727e4535d973bb0667) and perhaps also a bit about working groups and how we feel they are working, what's could be improved, etc. The goal of the proposal was to have a central place where the team can review designs and have design discussions. These discussions could have a few forms: - In some cases, people might bring a thorny problem, looking for help in finding a design. ([Example](https://rust-lang.zulipchat.com/#narrow/stream/131828-t-compiler/topic/steering.20meeting.202019.2E04.2E12.20.2358850/near/163193679)) - In other cases, people might be bringing an existing idea for evaluation and broader discussion, looking to reach a conclusion. ([Example](https://rust-lang.zulipchat.com/#narrow/stream/131828-t-compiler/topic/steering.20meeting.202019.2E04.2E12.20.2358850/near/163193734)) In each case, there will be a proposal describing the question at hand and the goals of the meeting. [The expectations for this proposal would vary depending on the kind of discussion.](https://rust-lang.zulipchat.com/#narrow/stream/131828-t-compiler/topic/steering.20meeting.202019.2E04.2E12.20.2358850/near/163194111) For "early stage" discussions, the proposal might be fairly sparse. ([Perhaps like this example](https://rust-lang.zulipchat.com/#narrow/stream/131828-t-compiler/topic/steering.20meeting.202019.2E04.2E12.20.2358850/near/163194566).) For meetings that aim to reach firm decisions, [the proposals would be expected to contain more details](https://rust-lang.zulipchat.com/#narrow/stream/131828-t-compiler/topic/steering.20meeting.202019.2E04.2E12.20.2358850/near/163194229); it would be useful to list [things the author expects are hard to do](https://rust-lang.zulipchat.com/#narrow/stream/131828-t-compiler/topic/steering.20meeting.202019.2E04.2E12.20.2358850/near/163194768) and also points where there are [design decisions to be made](https://rust-lang.zulipchat.com/#narrow/stream/131828-t-compiler/topic/steering.20meeting.202019.2E04.2E12.20.2358850/near/163194846). The expectation is that these meetings will help us propagate knowledge of what is going on through the project; they will help people get feedback on designs (right now, it can be hard to get people to make time to really talk out a design). Finally, [they can help newcomers to get more familiar with things](https://rust-lang.zulipchat.com/#narrow/stream/131828-t-compiler/topic/steering.20meeting.202019.2E04.2E12.20.2358850/near/163194881), since people can lurk in the meetings and soak up details ([not to mention the paper trail](https://rust-lang.zulipchat.com/#narrow/stream/131828-t-compiler/topic/steering.20meeting.202019.2E04.2E12.20.2358850/near/163194320)). While the basic idea of the proposal was popular, we wound up changing some of the details for how it would run. We settled ultimately on **reusing the slot for the existing steering meeting** (Friday mornings, Boston time) but making it **weekly**. Every Nth meeting (likely 3 or 6) would be a designated **steering meeting**. The role of these steering meetings it so select the next N-1 topics that will be discussed (from a list of proposals). In between meetings, people can add meeting proposals to the list for the next round. When we make these decisions, we would be trying to take a ["global view"](https://rust-lang.zulipchat.com/#narrow/stream/131828-t-compiler/topic/steering.20meeting.202019.2E04.2E12.20.2358850/near/163195057). In particular, [we don't want to be doing designs unless there are people who will put them into practice](https://rust-lang.zulipchat.com/#narrow/stream/131828-t-compiler/topic/steering.20meeting.202019.2E04.2E12.20.2358850/near/163198133). This probably means that we will prioritize design questions arising from existing working groups, but we might also take up design questions that might become the basis for a new working group, as long as there are people who would want to take part. We also spent some time discussing the idea of a [mentoring or 'internship' program](https://rust-lang.zulipchat.com/#narrow/stream/131828-t-compiler/topic/steering.20meeting.202019.2E04.2E12.20.2358850/near/163195743) for helping "frequent contributors" make the jump to "compiler team member". The designs that we discuss in this meeting would hopefully wind up detailed enough that [frequent contributors can pick them up and implement them](https://rust-lang.zulipchat.com/#narrow/stream/131828-t-compiler/topic/steering.20meeting.202019.2E04.2E12.20.2358850/near/163195172), even if the people *making* the design are busy with other things. Similarly, [design documents can become the basis for rustc-dev-guide chapters](https://rust-lang.zulipchat.com/#narrow/stream/131828-t-compiler/topic/steering.20meeting.202019.2E04.2E12.20.2358850/near/163195352). [We plan to flesh out some more details and put this idea into action starting May 3rd (the next steering meeting).](https://rust-lang.zulipchat.com/#narrow/stream/131828-t-compiler/topic/steering.20meeting.202019.2E04.2E12.20.2358850/near/163198505)