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=-0.4 required=5.0 tests=AC_FROM_MANY_DOTS,BAYES_00 autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,be23df8e7e275d73 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2001-08-07 15:56:12 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!newsfeed.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!newsfeeds.belnet.be!news.belnet.be!psinet-eu-nl!psiuk-p4!uknet!psiuk-n!news.pace.co.uk!nh.pace.co.uk!not-for-mail From: "Marin David Condic" Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: Proving Correctness (was Java Portability) Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2001 18:43:55 -0400 Organization: Posted on a server owned by Pace Micro Technology plc Message-ID: <9kpqvd$p4h$1@nh.pace.co.uk> References: <3B6636BA.96FD8348@home.com> <9kb3ub$hdo$1@a1-hrz.uni-duisburg.de> <9kchn1$lng$1@a1-hrz.uni-duisburg.de> <9kea9a$lsc$1@nh.pace.co.uk> <9keduf$qvc$1@a1-hrz.uni-duisburg.de> <9kelv1$riq$1@a1-hrz.uni-duisburg.de> <9kosp0$dje$1@nh.pace.co.uk> <873d73twql.fsf@deneb.enyo.de> NNTP-Posting-Host: 136.170.200.133 X-Trace: nh.pace.co.uk 997224237 25745 136.170.200.133 (7 Aug 2001 22:43:57 GMT) X-Complaints-To: newsmaster@news.cam.pace.co.uk NNTP-Posting-Date: 7 Aug 2001 22:43:57 GMT X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4522.1200 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.50.4522.1200 Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:11546 Date: 2001-08-07T22:43:57+00:00 List-Id: As I said elsewhere, anybody who wants to write code free of charge and give it away just because it presents a challenge, etc. is perfectly free to do so. More power to them. I just don't see the hoards massing at the gates just swelling with anticipation over the opportunity to work for free so that someone else will cash in on it. A lot of the code that ends up out there in "Open Source" (whatever definition we have for that today...) is something a company may have developed and made available because it isn't their "core business" and they benefit from a wider audience, or it is maybe academic work (profs and/or students) who were building things to gain knowledge and understanding and didn't see some huge commercial potential in keeping it for themselves. In both cases, someone did it because they had something to gain by doing so. You just aren't going to lure tens of thousands of professional programmers into making rock-solid, commercial grade development libraries unless they have something they anticipate gaining from it. (Not always cash - but it'll do as a substitute if you can't get the glory! :-) Even things like Linux aren't turned into a commercial grade "product" without someone doing it for the money. Taking something out of the realm of "hobbyist" software and making it a real product that can compete heads-up with something like Windows is only going to happen if someone makes a living by doing that. (Netscape and GNAT would be two more examples of something becoming a commercial-grade product because people are making a living off of it.) MDC -- Marin David Condic Senior Software Engineer Pace Micro Technology Americas www.pacemicro.com Enabling the digital revolution e-Mail: marin.condic@pacemicro.com Web: http://www.mcondic.com/ "Florian Weimer" wrote in message news:873d73twql.fsf@deneb.enyo.de... > Why do you think so? Perhaps the problem tackled by the library is > interesting and challenging. Some people climb mountains in their > free time, some write free software libraries. I don't think these > two things are so much different. > > OTOH, coding all the day and coming home just to code more stuff is a > bit sick. ;-)