On Fri, 26 Oct 2001 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Richard Robinson said - > > >Consider the possibility that a separately-maintained ABC library, > >open-source & bug-fixed by anybody that cares to take part, linked into > >your front-end code, might make your life easier too ? > > > >I'm sorry, as a non-VB programmer I don't know how VB links to a C > >library, but I imagine it must be possible by now. > > I expect that would be possible but would only give me a passive involvement > without the opportunity to take part in bug fixing or adding my own > innovations.
Adding innovations would involve discussion, certainly. Is that a bad thing ? I thought you were in favour of having standards and against people innovating off their own bat ? I'd have thought an open-source function library would facilitate this rather than hinder it. As for bug-fixing - if you're using functions out of a library in your own code, you will be the first to discover any bugs. They'll bite you, in your development, before they bite any users of the finally-developed result. You have the source so you can see exactly what's going on, know just how that code is interacting with your own, be able to discuss the situation with the library maintainers and find the best solution. And so will anybody else making use of that library, so they'll get the benefit of having bugs fixed that you've spotted, and vice versa. What could be _less_ passive or opportunity-denying than that ? > That's more like it! Open documentation would be of much more general use > than open source. Open documentation _is_ useful, yes. Very. That's how ABC has got to where it is; people are free to read how it's supposed to work, so they can go off and write code to make it happen like that. Code's useful too. In theory, someone could just read the documentation, and then write their abc in pencil on the back of an envelope, but in practice most of us do use some software from time to time. > Laura Conrad said - > > >Several other people are non-voting members by virtue of being on the > >mailing list by invitation of the members. > > > >I would be willing to resign in favor of someone with more enthusiasm > >for the project than I have at the moment. > > What on earth gives you the right to turn abc into an exclusive club? We could all do with a standard. This is an attempt to reach one. Laura's trying to help that. It seems unfair and wrong and counterproductive to put people down for trying to do things for us. -- Richard Robinson "The whole plan hinged upon the natural curiosity of potatoes" - S. Lem To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
