Re:
> Folks and Oberon Microsystems (OuS),
>
> We (all of us) have a problem.
> If we develop in Component Pascal and
> use any of the modules in BB we are
> restricted to non-unix systems. We are
> also incompatible with the rest of the
> Oberon community.
I agree. This is the single biggest obstacle to more
widespread use of BlackBox.
> I suggest the following business model extension
> to OuS. I do this publically since it is
> a public cooperative process that I suggest.
...
> This business model is radical. I will be implementing
> a general problem solving organization within the next
> one to two years based on it. I start here in
> Oberon land to get critical feedback.
>
> We need BB on more platforms. How do we get there?
>
> -Doug
Doug presented a model where OuS accepts bids for delivery
of modules. Here is an alternative model. With the growing
popularity of Linux, why not use the "GNU model". It seems
that Linux on Intel processors with XWindows is gaining a
critical mass in the market. That is, there are increasing
numbers of users and programmers who are using that environment.
I would be interested in participating in a volunteer effort
along the GNU lines. This would be similar to what Apple has
done recently with its Linux port and what Netscape has done
with its browser source code. (It remains to be seen whether
these will be successful efforts, however.)
Because GNU model is a volunteer one, however, does not mean
the effort would be without cost to OuS. A big effort would
be the specification of the modules that would need to be
implemented. I think that if OuS could give our small community
the specifications without compromising its need to protect its
proprietory code, we could make progress. What we need is a
public repository maintained by OuS that would post the current
state of the project, perhaps with a "to do" list of programming
tasks. The company could probably invest a little organizational
leadership in the prject that would leverage the talents of
the community to accomplish the goal of BlackBox on Unix/Linux.
This model is simialr to Doug's, except that the programming
tasks are voluntary, instead of for fee.
The company already has code generation for Intel processors
in its MSWindows products. How difficult would a port to Linux
be? Perhaps it would take just as much effort for a OuS employee
to coordinate the project as it would to do the port. I don't
know. Can we get some feedback from the company on this?
Stan
=============================
J. Stanley Warford
Professor of Computer Science
Pepperdine University
Malibu, CA 90263
warford{([at]})nowhere.xy
=============================
Received on Mon Apr 05 1999 - 21:21:15 UTC