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: Chris Morgan Subject: Re: Open-Source and programming style Date: 1998/11/16 Message-ID: <8790hbgguf.fsf@mihalis.ix.netcom.com>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 412632352 Sender: cm@mihalis.ix.netcom.com References: <364d0243.39960214@SantaClara01.news.InterNex.Net> <01be0ff2$6dd17b60$96a55c8b@aptiva> <72knmb$q79$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com> <01be1089$329f0980$50a55c8b@aptiva> <364f3bbe.214201@SantaClara01.news.InterNex.Net> <87ogq848xf.fsf@mihalis.ix.netcom.com> <72ptv2$upm$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com> Organization: Linux Hackers Unlimited X-NETCOM-Date: Mon Nov 16 7:01:04 PM PST 1998 Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Date: 1998-11-16T19:01:04-08:00 List-Id: dewarr@my-dejanews.com writes: >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. It may be down to language here but here goes. Prof Dewar is always exact in his language and I am a bit more metaphorical, but I don't agree that my point is completely bogus. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say GPL is the happy-hunting ground where the experts go after having done their thing with the proprietary model. Linux is a reimplementation of posix and hence other *nixes. Most previous *nixes have been commercial except for the branch rooted at UCB. Posix is of course the term RMS coined for the IEEE standardisation of Unix which is mandated by federal procurement regulations AIUI (remember, NT is Posix compliant!). Thus this commercially highly significant "thing" for want of a better word has finally made it to GPL status and I'm very pleased it has. I get the feeling lots of standard Unix programs and programmers are very "happy" with Linux too. GCC is a unique technology (I mean, whoever heard of a portable code-generator!), but it has often displaced bundled C compilers which came with commercial Unix. The basic "compile this C code well, quickly and in a standards-conforming way" property of C compilers is now a GPLed commodity (just use the right flags). Note I fully acknowledge the extra, unique and sometimes astonishing features of gcc. Similarly with GDB. GNAT is developed by a formidable tribe of ex-proprietary Ada compiler developers. Yet again something heretofore largely or wholly proprietary ("ada compiler") is now GPLed and demonstrating leadership technology. In all of the above the transfer of actual source from old proprietary to new GPL components is minimal, however the expertise applied to produce the latter has been greatly expanded in each and every case by experts familiar with the former, along with a few geniuses. Chris -- Chris Morgan Home Web Server - http://mihalis.dyn.ml.org/index.html