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From: andy@cbmvax.commodore.com (Andy Finkel)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.programmer
Subject: Re:  Information on Amiga Technical Reference Seri
Message-ID: <22547@cbmvax.commodore.com>
Date: 18 Jun 91 18:33:48 GMT
References: <3036@public.BTR.COM> <22380@cbmvax.commodore.com> <3068@public.BTR.COM> <22472@cbmvax.commodore.com> <3098@public.BTR.COM>
Reply-To: andy@cbmvax.commodore.com (Andy Finkel)
Organization: Commodore, West Chester, PA
Lines: 30

In article <3098@public.BTR.COM> valentin@public.BTR.COM (Valentin Pepelea) writes:
>
>1. The copyright laws do not adequately protect you.
>2. Imbeciles might do imbecile things.
>
>Any other bright arguments?

It doesn't take an imbecile.  
Let me give you an example you might be able to relate to. 
The 2.0 parallel.device turns out to depend heavily on side effects
of the 2.0 cia resource and timer.device, in any of its three speed modes.  
It's just not that reliable under 1.3.  The programmer apparently did this 
without  knowing, and has no idea he even was depending on the side effects.
If he had realized it, he might have done a version check, or at the least 
put comments about the problem in the source.
The only way to discover the side effects was via the source.

It would be a shame if this problem were magnified a thousandfold.

>Valentin
			andy

-- 
andy finkel		{uunet|rutgers|amiga}!cbmvax!andy
Commodore-Amiga, Inc.

 "2.0 is not the answer.  2.0 is the question.  Yes is the answer."

Any expressed opinions are mine; but feel free to share.
I disclaim all responsibilities, all shapes, all sizes, all colors.