Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!hplabs!hp-pcd!hplsla!jima
From: jima@hplsla.HP.COM (Jim Adcock)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: Re: libg++ and copylefts
Message-ID: <6590211@hplsla.HP.COM>
Date: 20 Jul 89 19:48:34 GMT
References: <2053@dataio.Data-IO.COM>
Organization: HP Lake Stevens, WA
Lines: 20

> Is anybody else sick of this topic? 

Well, I'm certainly sick of not getting anywhere on it.  C++ is about code
reuse.  Object oriented design is about code reuse.  People cannot reuse 
code that they cannot or will not share.  The C++ community must work out
reasonable, fair, equitable ways of doing this.  Until then, we're not going
to get anywhere.  People who work for companies are going to have to be able
to get a reasonable, fair profit from their work, or their managers won't
let them share.  People who work for companies can't use other's software
if clear title cannot be determined.  People who work in acedemia can't 
share software that's over priced, or has very restrictive licensing.
Proprietary agreements between companies keep the people involved from sharing
almost anything.  Neither copyright, copyleft, nor software patents seem to
be the answer.  And each compiler writer comes up with a privately generated
set of base libraries, guaranteeing enough gratuitous incompatibilities to
drive us all batty forever.

There must be some fair ways to share software, which aren't going to stop
people from doing what they want or need to do.  I just don't know the 
answer.