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=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,c78684b2d4add105 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2003-10-12 16:37:43 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news2.google.com!news.maxwell.syr.edu!newshub.sdsu.edu!elnk-nf2-pas!newsfeed.earthlink.net!stamper.news.pas.earthlink.net!stamper.news.atl.earthlink.net!newsread1.news.atl.earthlink.net.POSTED!not-for-mail Message-ID: <3F89E5C5.80804@noplace.com> From: Marin David Condic User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.0.1) Gecko/20020823 Netscape/7.0 (OEM-HPQ-PRS1C03) X-Accept-Language: en-us, en MIME-Version: 1.0 Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: Feasibility/Requirements/Wishes of xAL (was: Standard Library Interest?) References: <3F88D5E3.9010702@comcast.net> <3F897415.6030804@noplace.com> <3F89DB96.80708@comcast.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2003 23:37:42 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 165.247.67.129 X-Complaints-To: abuse@earthlink.net X-Trace: newsread1.news.atl.earthlink.net 1066001862 165.247.67.129 (Sun, 12 Oct 2003 16:37:42 PDT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2003 16:37:42 PDT Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:755 Date: 2003-10-12T23:37:42+00:00 List-Id: Well, O.K. If what you're saying is that there would be some organization producing a "Common" Ada library (or whatever it is ultimately called) and you expect that there are people who would want to contribute pieces - such as bindings, etc. - then yes, I can see a need to manage the names. But I'd think that we'd want to first see some notion of general acceptance of the concept of a CAL (or insert name here) and how it would be produced. Whoever is doing the publishing could worry about name allocation. MDC Robert I. Eachus wrote: > > > First notice that without a group working on CAL or whatever name is > chosen, this isn't much use at all. The bit about avoiding name > conflicts might be helpful in a vacuum, but that is about it. > > However, if we do have a serious collaborative library building effort > going on, or several of them, then having the registrar in place and > working deals with several major problems and has one side benefit. > > The major problem is that there are names and areas which are potential > minefields. For example, GNADE uses ODBC. ODBC is a Microsoft > standard. It would be really nice to name the package that supplies the > thin binding to ODBC, something.ODBC, and have Microsoft's permission to > do so. This is part of what the registry is there to accomplish, just > like the process for registering domain names on the Internet. > > In addition there are some names which may be highly prized and others > which should be used for implementations of particular bindings or > libraries. I don't care if CAL has a CAL.BLAS which has nothing to do > with the Basic Linear Algebra System. (Well, I think it would be silly, > and if I got a vote inside CAL I'd probably vote against it.) But I > think any "root" library named BLAS would only be given to a (complete, > working) BLAS implementation. Similarly I can't see any legitimate > standards group approving the name GtkAda for anyone except the authors > of GtkAda. > > Now comes the side benefit... There are certain Microsoft bindings that > won't get into CAL or any such library without Microsoft's blessing. To > the extent that Microsoft wants to control such bindings, they will. But > if there is a registry in place and well managed, it will be a lot > easier to get sensible Ada bindings to Microsoft (and other company's) > interfaces registered and with sensible copyright restrictions. No, > that doesn't mean that we can talk Microsoft into going to open source > licensing for everything. But it should mean that they will agree to > have the package spec free for copying without modification, even if > Microsoft wants you to buy their implementation. (But I expect that > Microsoft will be willing to make any necessary Microsoft bindings > available from their website. They have in the past.) > > I used Microsoft to be specific. But there are other companies such as > Oracle, Sun, and even ACT where before we are done we may have to deal > with trademark and copyright issues. Do it right from the start, and > there may even be funding from someone other than the compiler > companies. But if we don't start out with the right intentions--to do > our best to acknowledge and protect copyrights and trademarks without > making the libraries impossible to use--then we will fail. -- ====================================================================== Marin David Condic I work for: http://www.belcan.com/ My project is: http://www.jsf.mil/NSFrames.htm Send Replies To: m c o n d i c @ a c m . o r g "All reformers, however strict their social conscience, live in houses just as big as they can pay for." --Logan Pearsall Smith ======================================================================