Re: GNAT documentation in Debian

[Markus E Leypold <development-2006-8ecbb5cc8aREMOVETHIS@ANDTHATm-e-leypold.de>]

Ludovic Brenta <ludovic@ludovic-brenta.org> writes:

> Markus E Leypold writes:
>> Also I didn't want to say that this costs me so much time now: I only
>> wanted to oppose the message "and we (the free maintainers) don't care
>> for non free docs, wether they are packaged or so" (I'm interpreting
>> your word here). I only wanted to point out the fallacy in that.
>
> The real message was that nobody cared *enough* to spend the time
> necessary, not that nobody cared *at all*.

Oh sorry, I understood what you said, explicitely as "we (the
maintainers) don't see that as a problem".

As far as lack of documentation goes I've the same reproach to the
Linux (kernel) maintainers and so on: Missing documentation and if it
exists copyright restrictions on documentation is the bane of free
software at the moment. I'd wish we'de at least come back to the
original "reference manual" idea which is so neatly embodied in the
man pages.

> And that nobody includes you, Markus.  If you cared enough, you
> would spend the time.

Actually a question of priorities. I would have cared enough some time
ago. I had a number of of improvements to GtkAda between 1 and 2 years
years ago, some add-ons and was on the verge of starting to seriously
getting into maintaining a compiler + libraries compilation system
that should provide a identical runtime environment between Linux and
Windows. I was really interested in that. Then AdaCore began those
licensing games and frankly -- wheras I could perhaps have lived with
a change to GPL, I cannot live with AdaCore attitude (and believe me,
mailing with the acting director of AdaCore europe was the logical
equivalent to an out of body experience: Quite surreal and that not
because I failed to ask specific question _could_ not be
misunderstood). I then decided that I won't have any of that (and yes
-- I'd have sent a lawyer simply to get information instead of
evasion, if I had not decided at the end that changing "my software
strategy" would, at the end, be much more profitable and marketable.

I'm well on my way _away_ from Ada now (and so are my clients), so
sorry: Almost anything I'd do for Gnat (or related libaries) now,
would not be a (relatively cheap) spin off, instead it would cost me
heavily.

Also there is other free software that needs my attention now. "Not
caring" does not always explain why people don't fix a specific
problem, and I prefer to do the things right I'm doing, instead of
going round and fixing things other people have missed (and there
would be a lot of fixing to do even in Debian which I like and the
experience is not always favourable when one reports bugs and submit
patches (happened to me, happened to friends)).

No offense intended, but I'm not the debian maintainer of Gnat.

Regards -- Markus