Kim Haase wrote: > Good question, Dag. I think that distinction is indeed common in the > software business, actually. We use the verb "productize" (which makes > me shudder) to describe taking an open-source project and providing > marketing, support, and so on. So Java DB and Cloudscape would > ordinarily be considered products, while Derby would not. > > However, I notice that the term "product" occurs from time to time > within the Derby docs -- so I'm undoubtedly being too fussy about this.
I did a google search for "open source product" and the second hit was "2006 Open Source Product of the Year": http://www.developer.com/open/article.php/3578451 A google search for "product site:apache.org" also shows other projects using "product", for example "This is first official release of the Jakarta BSF product from Apache Software Foundation." in this page: http://jakarta.apache.org/site/news/news-2006-q4.html personally, I wouldn't lose any sleep over using the word "product" to refer to what an open source project releases. -jean > Kim > > Dag H. Wanvik wrote: > >> "Kim Haase (JIRA)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: >> >>> Kim Haase commented on DERBY-2390: >>> ---------------------------------- >>> On rgsdocs17307.html -- just a few things: >>> >>> I'm glad you caught the problem with the term "library. I don't >>> think Derby is technically a product, which implies something that >>> is sold; so maybe just "Derby documentation" would be a better >>> title. >> >> >> This piqued my interest, being a non-native speaker. I was not aware >> that "product" mainly carries this connotation. I thought a product >> merely meant something made by a process of some kind, cf. for example >> this definition - entry #1 - I found on dictionary.com, from American >> Heritage Dictionary: >> >> 1. Something produced by human or mechanical effort or by a natural >> process. >> >> I did also find the meaning "commodities offered for sale", but is the >> latter meaning so predominant that most readers will assume a software >> "product" necessarily has a price tag? >> >> Dag
