Luca De Marini wrote: > Looks like it is going to be completely closed.... I believe I'll stop > looking for Android and look somewhere else instead...
*head explodes* So...let me get this straight: -- The source code is available (http://source.android.com) -- There is a patch process in place that is already accepting patches from outside contributors And this is "completely closed"? Android, in this area, is behaving exactly like every other major open source project in existence. A core group of folk wrote code. They wrote it the way they wanted. They opened it up. They control commit rights and whether to accept or deny patches. If you want it to behave differently, you need to write and test replacement code, then contribute it back and convince them that your patch is a good idea. By your definition, the Linux kernel is "completely closed", because only Linus and his lieutenants are capable of affecting change to the kernel. Firefox, OpenOffice.org, GNOME, KDE, all the Apache projects (big and small), and so forth all work this way, and so you must consider them to be completely closed, too. If you don't like the way Android is implemented today, WRITE A PATCH and CONVINCE THOSE IN CHARGE to accept the patch. In the end, that's what open source projects are all about. ----------------- Now, to deal with Mr. Sutton's likely rejoinder, that the Android core team won't accept a patch changing this behavior, and therefore Android is closed: Perhaps they won't accept the patch now. Perhaps not ever. That doesn't mean Android is closed. Let's go back to the Linux kernel. I can propose whatever patches I want. Linus is unlikely to accept any of them prima facia, because I have no track record with respect to kernel development. And he might reject them on grounds that are within his rights (e.g., attempts to link in proprietary code, breaks existing APIs, shoddy implementation). This doesn't mean Linux is closed. It doesn't mean my patch is completely bad. It does mean my patch won't get into Linux, because Linus Torvalds, in the end, is the guy who defines Linux. If I keep proposing a patch that causes the kernel to crash every third Wednesday at 4pm Eastern, and Linus rejects it every time as being meritless and moronic, this does not mean that Linux is closed. This is how open source works. Similarly, we can contribute patches back to Android. It's happening already. Some of those patches will be accepted quickly, as they are small, non-controversial changes, particularly bug fixes. Some proposed patches will get debated for a long time only to be rejected. Some proposed patches will get rejected out of hand. If they tend to reject a lot of patches, they will get called rather unpleasant names. But, with Android under an open source license, if they're accepting a reasonable number of patches, they're as "open" as any other open source project. Android may not meet your wishes or needs. You are welcome to call them lots of names. Now that the source code is released, though, "closed" is a profanity, and if you expect to toss that live hand grenade around willy-nilly, expect me and others to get very, very pissed. -- Mark Murphy (a Commons Guy) http://commonsware.com Android Training on the Ranch! -- Mar 16-20, 2009 http://www.bignerdranch.com/schedule.shtml --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Android Discuss" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-discuss?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
