From: Michele Andreoli ([email protected])
Date: Mon Jun 18 2001 - 19:25:54 CEST
On Mon, Jun 18, 2001 at 09:34:24AM -0400, Richard Holt nicely wrote:
>
> I'll check on the state of the Linux version.
> Opera is much better than Netscape.
>
I'm just reading a lot of documents about free-software and the open-source
way of developing the software. A recent book about OpenSource, with a lot
of articles from the guru of GNU philosophy is on-line
at www.apogeonline.com (italian version).
I also even just read "The cathedral an the bazaar" by Eric S. Raymond,
a reading that I suggest to everyone.
Netscape was ported in to Linux in a single night! (an iperbola)
My feel, my humble opinion is that free-software is good as far is
concerned world-wide debugging, insemination, creation of standards,
cooperation, revolutionary and genial design etc,
but what about ... optimization?
Speaking as free developer (both sense: unpaid & freedom) I only get
pleasure in designing and cooperation but heavy optimization (without money)
is generally out of my scope. Ok, I do not see me as typical free
developer because too lazy and also unable to coordinate cooperation, but
my feeling is that this is common lack in free developing.
On the other hand, what the free-developer is searching when he
create something? He is only following a such and such interior need,
or also an "a priori" completeness? He, romantic revolutionary,
only reacts in the case of a public challenge and if the Principle is
in danger of the death?
A good example is multi-language: it is very hard to consider this part
of a project as the *creative* part. So, I cannot see the free developer
that translate its work in other languages with the "laugh on the mouth".
I cannot see the free developer that rewrite 80% of its code in order
to achieve 10% of performance, unless we are speaking of creative
rewriting, as mission-critical code usually requires. Mmm ...
Another line of reasoning: Free-Software is like Free-Science, true?
The scientist likes to immediately publish its results and its reward
is "how many references" to its published-works are in the world.
In this sense, the exception is the Close-Source, not the Open-Source.
Ok, let me point now on the RADAR, or on the balistic missile:
they are, mainly, a results of the applied science or engeneering (civil
or military), i.e. the results of not-pure-science requirements.
The RADAR, for example, is (as far the cognitive contents) an optimization
from the "Four Maxwell Equations" of the electro-magnetism; the
balistic missile is an optimization of the stone that Galileo launched from
the Pisa's Tower.
What I am subtlely saying?
That balistic-missiles are a commercial product, as Opera is? Probabily,
I'm saying that commercial and free developemnt both will play an
important role, in the future.
In summing up: creativity, both as the pearl, as the limit of
free-programming?
... Hope my opinion is very minority on this mailinglist.
Michele
P.S.
Surely it is not clear, because the bad english, but question,
paraphrasing Richard, was:
"Opera uses optimized code as design guide-line?".
-- I keep trying to locate a meeting of Quantum Physicists. But everytime they set a meeting time, the location changes. And vice versa -- Anonymous --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
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