On Thu, 15 Mar 2007 15:51:43 +0000, Roy Schestowitz wrote:
> __/ [ Kier ] on Thursday 15 March 2007 12:13 \__
>
>> On Thu, 15 Mar 2007 11:43:24 +0000, Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>>
>>> Documentation is a different matter, but at least contact is possible.
>>> Have you ever seen names of developers or addresses for feedback (let
>>> alone something like Bugzilla) for Microsoft software. If you develop
>>> software for Microsoft, you are a (wo)man without a name, nor a face. You
>>> do it for the cheque only.
>>
>> Most ordinary people work mainly for the cheque at the eend of the month.
>> That doesn't preclude them from enjoying what they do, or doing it
>> properly.
>>
>> The problem with Windows, IMO, is more a case of 'too many cooks spoil the
>> broth'.
>>
>> Does it still surprise anyone that software they produce is so
>>> bug-ridden? The closed nature of it makes it akin to lego pieces with
>>> plaster in arbitrary places (making patches, testing and maintenance
>>> impossible... think DST). Honest developers don't fear or feel shy about
>>> making their code visible...
>>
>> Are you trying to say closed source developers are inherently dishonest?
>> That seems to be a rather foolish and sweeping generalisation.
>
> No, but your misinterpretation is a fair one, so I'll clarify. What I am
> suggesting is that as a programmer you'll have a better chance of 'getting
> away' with something if your distribution is in binary form only. When I
> made Othello Master GPL, for example, I was not embarrassed about typos in
> the comments, admission of bugs/mistakes/poor coding. I did, however, have a
> reason to clean up. When people open-source a proprietary app you will often
> hear them saying that they 'prepare it for publishing' so to speak. It means
> that without visibility, the code is not polished. What if you could not
> lift the car's bonnet? Would the engineer or builder be tempted to shove in
> some poor and broken parts? What about their shape (presenatation)? Okay,
> poor car analogy, but I type as quickly as I think/speak...
Yeah, car analogies suck like electrolux ;-)
However, I do take your point. I imagine it is some incentive to keep
things up to scratch when you know you're going to have people looking at
what you do. Still, CSS coders may still have pride enough in their own
work that they don't skimp.
I'm an amateur writer, and most of my 'work' is seldom seen by anyone but
me, yet I always make an effort to spell and punctuate correctly. I do it
to satisfy myself.
--
Kier
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