Re: An Ada IDE and discussions

[Pascal Obry <p.obry@wanadoo.fr>]

"Marin David Condic" <marin.condic.auntie.spam@pacemicro.com> writes:

> I think we agree wholeheartedly on the objective you outlined. We both want
> to see Ada accepted at a greater level than it is. I think we both agree
> that the presence of lots of Ada code available for development serves this
> goal. I think we also both agree that your garden variety hacker, small
> business, internal corporate developer, etc. ought to be able to get the
> source, use it in their software, modify it as needed, etc. and not have to
> pay a royalty. (That's what will get Ada accepted for various forms of
> internal development.) Where I think we part company (correct me if I'm
> wrong) is that I believe a different license is possible/desirable that
> secures some financial rights for the authors of a work in the event that
> someone takes their work & uses it for financial gain. If I understand you
> correctly, you seem to be favoring the GPL which basically does not secure
> those rights - or at least has not dealt with that question.

Yep. Because everything I build is based on the GPL license. All my work would
not be possible without GNAT for example. I will not like to have to buy an
Ada compiler for my home/hobby job !

So yes I favor the GPL because my work is based on plenty of other GPL
softwares. Piece by piece we can as hobbyist build very nice software. Today
with Linux, GNAT and AWS, I can build some very nice Web server. And I do not
count all Ada components and library I use. All this will not be possible if I
had to pay some compagnies to be able to use Linux, GNAT and some Ada
components.

Now, this is certainly not a problem for a company where buying a software
and/or support for it is just the right things to do. I would not start a
project in my company without some kind of support. But Pascal Obry at home
don't want to spent some hundred of $ to have the right to build and
distribute a software.

> I might be willing to contribute to some community accessible code, but I'd
> like to think that if I'm spending time on it that there is some $$$ in it
> for me if someone else is going to take my work and make $$$ for themselves
> with it. 

Don't you have some piece of code in your hard disc that you could share ? As
I said in my previous message, I don't write software only for the community
but just to learn something or for the fun :) For example AWS has started
because I wanted to understand how the HTTP protocol was working... and some
time after... well you know the story :) Idem for SMTP, POSIX...

Anyway, let me just add something. I find the Ada community to be less active
in the Open Source movement. I don't say it is bad or good, just that it seems
to me that the C/C++, Java, Eiffel, Perl... communities are doing far more in
this area.

I'll just add, let's talk about $$$ when Ada will be on the right tracks. I'm
convinced that without GNU/Ada Ada will be just invisible today, used only in
some very small niche.

Just my 2 cents,
Pascal.

-- 

--|------------------------------------------------------
--| Pascal Obry                           Team-Ada Member
--| 45, rue Gabriel Peri - 78114 Magny Les Hameaux FRANCE
--|------------------------------------------------------
--|         http://perso.wanadoo.fr/pascal.obry
--|
--| "The best way to travel is by means of imagination"