From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,effb80d4bb7716dd X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public From: tmoran@bix.com (Tom Moran) Subject: Re: Wanted: Ada STL. Reward: Ada's Future Date: 1999/02/05 Message-ID: <36bb301f.2303870@news.pacbell.net>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 441075533 References: <790f4q$3l@bgtnsc01.worldnet.att.net> <36B856E4.D921C1D@bton.ac.uk> <79cc3q$mms$1@remarQ.com> <1999Feb4.141530.1@eisner> <79d0db$6h5$1@remarQ.com> <1999Feb4.171318.1@eisner> <79dp2o$s2h$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com> <36ba730b.35540068@news.pacbell.net> <79eq4l$m1a$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com> X-Complaints-To: abuse@pacbell.net X-Trace: typhoon-sf.pbi.net 918239427 206.170.24.123 (Fri, 05 Feb 1999 10:30:27 PDT) Organization: SBC Internet Services NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 05 Feb 1999 10:30:27 PDT Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Date: 1999-02-05T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: >Note that Tom is involved with selling proprietary >software, so it is certainly in his interest that people >be worried about this :-) To start with the ad hominem argument, yes, I am a professional programmer - I earn my livelihood by selling my programming. Since ACT sells GNAT ("supported GNAT" costs $$$, while "unsupported GNAT" has other restrictions in its copyright, but a requirement to send a check to ACT is not among them), I think Dr. Dewar is also involved with selling software. He of course has an interest in having people not worried, but rather attracted by words like "free". >but it does need explaining to non-lawyers, especially >when they have been confused by posts such as those >recently made by Tom and Larry. That is exactly the problem, and it predates posts by myself or Larry. In English, as George Orwell among others have pointed out, you are free (libre) to use words with any definition you like. If that aids your cause, OK; if it hinders your cause, as I believe it does in this case for Larry and I, among others, tough. One of the problems with reuse is that it needs to be easier than reinvention. For small pieces of code (not compilers) reinvention is relatively easy. As Larry points out, reading and feeling comfortable with, or having your lawyer read and agree to, someone's idiosyncratic restrictions on their "free" software is often harder than reinvention.