On Sun, 2003-03-30 at 09:12, Horst Herb wrote: > On Sun, 30 Mar 2003 08:14, Tim Churches wrote: > > and even SUN, dozens for drivers for specific products etc etc. Indeed, > > even programming languages such as Python, whose core developers are > > paid to work on Python full-time by Zope Corporation, whose core product > > Not quite. Python originated purely from academia (one-man-work by Guido van > Rossum initially), namely from a public University. Nowadays, Zope is one of > the generous sponsors helping Python to evolve, but the original Python is - > just like BSD Unix, Postgres, Pascal, Modula, and so many other superb free > software - a universitarian product.
Python grew out of a language called ABC, which a group of researchers were sponsored to work on by private industry. It's true that Guido van Rossum then developed Python on his own, in his spare time while working as a mathematician at a Dutch university. But for the last 5 years or so, he, and a small team of others, have been paid to work on Python and nothing but Python by a number of semi-publicly-funded and private companies in the US. Anyway, the point is that there is nothing wrong with sponsored open source development, in which people are paid to work full-time on open source projects, or sometimes on projects which end up being open sourced - whwether that sponsored work happens in a university, in a private company or institute, or in someone's home study. Hence we should be supportive of the AAFP initiatives, even if their chosen software platforms and architecture are not exactly to our liking (I have no idea what they are, so I can't say). But being supportive doesn't mean we shouldn't engage in constructive debate with them - but let's keep it unmistakably constructive - and leave the skepticism on the shelf for now. -- Tim C PGP/GnuPG Key 1024D/EAF993D0 available from keyservers everywhere or at http://members.optushome.com.au/tchur/pubkey.asc Key fingerprint = 8C22 BF76 33BA B3B5 1D5B EB37 7891 46A9 EAF9 93D0
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