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From: Andi Kleen <ak@muc.de>
Subject: Re: Open-Source and programming style
Date: 1998/11/15
Message-ID: <m31zn4wr4n.fsf@fred.muc.de>#1/1
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Date: 1998-11-15T00:00:00+00:00
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In article <364f3bbe.214201@SantaClara01.news.InterNex.Net>,
tmoran@bix.com (Tom Moran) writes:
>   It's also my understanding that the big OSS projects have been in
> situation where the spec was already pretty well understood by many
> people (eg, Unix, the Ada LRM) rather than needing specs for a
> completely new, never been done before, undertaking.  The latter
> seems more in need of a very small design team than the former. 
 
I think there is a confusion of terms here: Open Source Licensing does not
require bazaar style development (an example is GNAT which
is managed cathedral like). On the other hand bazaar style development
is in principle possible for proprietary software, although that is seldom
done because few organisations have the man power needed for it. Because 
of this reason more OSS projects are done bazaar style - simply because
it is possible (enough volunteers available) and well understood. But it 
is not required. 

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) 

-Andi