rpj@redcloud.cad.mcc.com (Rich Johns) (11/23/89)
Micheal Ball makes a good case for distributing object libraries with
source code. I would like to add a few comments:
The single most productive environment I have ever worked in is the
lisp machine environment, where all source code, even on the system
level, is available to anybody that cares to look. There are many
reasons why a lisp machine is a productive software development
environment, but certainly source code availability is high on the
list. Countless numbers of times I was able to implement something I
needed by looking at another piece of code in the environment. Not
only that, I learned a great deal from reading the code. If I could
not use it as is, I could usually massage it until it did what I
wanted.
Currently I am working on a project using c++ and Xwindows. We also
use a public domain X toolkit for C++ called InterViews I'm sure most
of you have heard of. We have realized tremendous productivity gains
by using IV. Having the source code available makes what would
normally be unfathomable black boxes, into understandable,
explainable, informative, and instructive objects. Most of the time we
simply reuse what is already there without modifications, through
derivations or instantiation. However, we also take objects and rework
them to meet our specific needs. We've even taken entire programs and
used them as the basis of a new programs. In addition to all of this,
there is the network where many other people are using IV to build
objects and programs. Much of the work they do is available for the
asking, or more officially via ftp from a contribution library.
This is software reuse... at least the best form of it that I
have come across. Without source code it simply would not work.
Rich Johns, MCC CAD Program | 3500 W. Balcones Center Dr., Austin, TX 78759
ARPA: johns@mcc.com | Phone: [512] 338-3714
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