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: 103376,7f3ed9f7030da79b
X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public
From: dewarr@my-dejanews.com
Subject: Re: Open-Source and programming style
Date: 1998/11/16
Message-ID: <72ptv2$upm$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com>#1/1
X-Deja-AN: 412474059
References: <364d0243.39960214@SantaClara01.news.InterNex.Net>
 <01be0ff2$6dd17b60$96a55c8b@aptiva> <72knmb$q79$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com>
 <01be1089$329f0980$50a55c8b@aptiva>
 <364f3bbe.214201@SantaClara01.news.InterNex.Net> <m31zn4wr4n.fsf@fred.muc.de>
 <87ogq848xf.fsf@mihalis.ix.netcom.com>
X-Http-Proxy: 1.0 x2.dejanews.com:80 (Squid/1.1.22) for client 205.232.38.14
Organization: Deja News - The Leader in Internet Discussion
X-Article-Creation-Date: Mon Nov 16 19:21:07 1998 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
X-Http-User-Agent: Mozilla/4.04 [en] (OS/2; I)
Date: 1998-11-16T00:00:00+00:00
List-Id: <comp.lang.ada>

In article <87ogq848xf.fsf@mihalis.ix.netcom.com>,
  Chris Morgan <mihalis@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> Andi Kleen <ak@muc.de> writes:
>
> > Regarding your assertion that big Open Source software
always have a fixed
> > spec because they're cloning something: good counter
examples are GNU emacs
> > and PGP (before it went commercial)
>
> This is true as far as it goes, however RMS made GNU
Emacs based on
> his experiences with previous Emacsen dating back to his
original
> version. It does seem then that GPL is a particularly
good fit for
> software which is well-understood by the people wishing
to develop
> it. Cloners in the case of some well-known GPL items, but
in many
> notable cases the original visionaries arrive at GPL
after experience
> with other schemes such as proprietary or other
"freeware"
> licenses. Perhaps GPL is the happy-hunting grounds where
programs go
> to be happy after having served their time being used to
wring money
> from users in previous incarnations.


This last statement by Chris seems completely bogus to me.
I can only think of counterexamples. Linux itself, which is
the culmination of RMS' vision of a freely distributed OS,
EMACS, GCC, GNAT, GDB etc.

-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/       Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own