dld@F.GP.CS.CMU.EDU (David Detlefs) (08/17/89)
In the GNU Manifesto RMS often uses the phrase "system software." We all have an intuitive feel for what this means; I assume that the world of software is split between "system software" and "application software." I gather that roughly speaking the "system software" is the stuff that almost everyone uses, while a piece of application software is used by only a subset of users. (I welcome any better definitions, particularly the one that RMS had in mind when he wrote the Manifesto.) The arguments in the Manisfesto mostly refer to system software such as operating systems, editors, and compilers. For these, I think they make a great deal of sense -- we know now to do these; keeping these proprietary and expensive impedes the progress of the state of the art. However, it's not clear to me that the arguments in the Manifesto make sense for application software. It's impossible to predict what application software will be useful in the near future -- certainly the eventual users of that software are not qualified to predict what they will want. In technological fields, the ability to do something often creates demand, rather than vice-versa. I think the free market is a proven system for stimulating technological and economic innovation -- even Eastern Europe seems to agree these days. So, in summary -- was the phrase "system software" used in any technical sense in the manifesto? If so, were different standards supposed to apply the converse of system software, which I take to be application software? -- Dave Detlefs Any correlation between my employer's opinion Carnegie-Mellon CS and my own is statistical rather than causal, dld@cs.cmu.edu except in those cases where I have helped to form my employer's opinion. (Null disclaimer.)
nagle@well.UUCP (John Nagle) (08/19/89)
The notion that "system software" is "operating systems, editors,
and compilers" is dated, and belongs to the DEC-20 era. Today, editors and
compilers are definitely applications programs. For the popular systems and
languages, a wide selection of programmer-oriented applications are
available.
System software is, today, primarily software that applications
interface with when in operation. This includes operating systems,
command interpreters, network software, and window support. There is
also application-dependent system software, such as database systems
intended for use by other programs.
John Naglejym@APPLE.COM (08/19/89)
> The notion that "system software" is "operating systems, editors, > and compilers" is dated, and belongs to the DEC-20 era. I'm afraid I don't follow you on this one. (But then, I'm one of those folks who's waiting for modern operating systems to advance to where TOPS-20 was years ago.) EMACS wasn't officially part of the TOPS-20 system, though I never ran into a system that didn't have it. It was an application that you added to the system. Yet I couldn't imagine using TOPS-20 without it. TOPS-20 without EMACS is not the same system. (Anyone confused yet about the distinction between system software and application software?) <_Jym_>
ds@hollin.prime.com (08/20/89)
EMACS could and still can be regarded either as system software or an application program. Since these terms are relative, not absolute, there can never be a final answer to such a question. BTW, I once did a lot of programming on a TOPS-20 system that did not have EMACS. I used an editor that maintained a line number at the start of each line in each file. Luckily, the nature of my task was such that I didn't really need the interactive support provided by EMACS. David Spector ds@primerd.prime.com