EVERHART%ARISIA@rca.COM ("GLENN EVERHART, 609 486 6328") (10/01/87)
3 or 4 cheers for FSF for providing us with Gnu Emacs, Bison, and now GCC. It was about time some language compilers of good quality started showing up to compete against the DEC ones. BTW I heartily disagree with the person who commented that the FSF guys are "stealing" program designs. These designs are in the public domain and are being improved upon. (And that's the major part of the work of software design in the systems area... I remember how it was before so many tools got passed back and forth and improved on like a good stew...and I don't want to return to those days. Many of the tools of the un*x environment were done at universities and passed around in a free spirit; tends to prove the case of the value of passing good software around freely, notwithstanding the fact that some commercial type folks want to grab control of such tools. Anyhow, if enough of us can generate really fine tools, and enough of them get disseminated, it won't matter what overpriced stuff hits the market... nobody'll have to buy it. Besides, costs for marketing software are obscene... isn't it better to give your tools away, charge for maintenance if you like, and have zillions of copies get USED, rather than spend 5 to 6 figure numbers to advertise, hopefully cover your costs, and have very little left in your pocket and not too many people out ther USING your stuff??? Enough said... flame off Glenn Everhart Everhart%Arisia.decnet@ge-crd.arpa