What exactly is open source? In a way it's LinuxCNC but only a few guru's
really understand what is happening under the covers because it's so incredibly
powerful. The MESA cards can be modified since much of the FPGA information
is published. But unlike MACH3 where a simple checkbox changes the spindle
step pin into a pwm pin the FPGA world requires knowledge of the entire FPGA
programming environment and it can't just be changed with a check box on a set
up dialog box.
This is an unrelated discussion but there ain't no such thing as a free
lunch. Open source is not without cost. This is a common misconception.
The open source community is very vocal about the software being free
but that is misleading. The software itself may be free but you need to
invest a significant amount of effort into actually using it. Closed
source developers have a strong incentive to make their software as easy
to use as possible. If their software is hard to use nobody will buy it
and they don't get to eat at the end of the day. Open source relies on
the willingness of developers to donate their time. Pretty front ends
and ease of use take a back seat compared to functionality. Both models
have their place. It's your decision at the end of the day. Do you want
to invest money or time?
And in the LinuxCNC world one has to be very careful when asking a question in
fear of being chastised for not doing their own research and memorizing all the
command line options of a 1970's based serial non-graphical terminal interface.
That's not my experience. Generally any questions I have asked on this
forum have been answered pretty quickly with minimal snark. If you ask
something that has been asked a thousand times before you could get a
short reply but you have to remember everyone is donating their time. It
gets tedious answering the same questions repeatedly when a quick Google
search could have found the answer. Again going back to paid software,
you are paying someone to be patient with you. It is up to you to make
the decision how you pay. You can pay by doing the research and helping
others or you can pay someone directly to help you.
So open source is truly open source but I'll bet 95% of the members on this
forum haven't a clue what Gene or Thomas means when they post how they are
rebuilding the kernel for a Raspberry Pi.
If you really want to know the information is a Google search away. If
you put in the time to learn this stuff you will end up knowing how to
do it. Gene is not an experienced Linux kernel developer. He started off
knowing little about what was needed but was willing to put in the time
to learn.
Les
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