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From: K538915@CZHRZU1A.BITNET.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re:Binary newsgroups
Message-ID: <8702251402.AA00125@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: Wed, 25-Feb-87 09:33:01 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.8702251402.AA00125
Posted: Wed Feb 25 09:33:01 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 27-Feb-87 07:21:34 EST
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Distribution: world
Organization: The ARPA Internet
Lines: 38

As a major distributer of a binary only program (BTW I have put source
for other programs on the net (did anybody ever use the screensavers
I posted)) I have some comments to one of the postings about the
a binary/source newsgroup (beware we are NOT connected to UUCP so we
don't pay the bills):
Gene Spafford spaf@gatech.UUCP writes
>1) Binary isn't retargetable. A bina..................................
>2) Binary isn't adaptable.  If a ......................................
Right, but utilities of general interest (in C and with Unixlike
system calls) belong on Mod.sources or Comp.sources.unix (in source!),
Comp.sources.atari.st or what ever it will be called should be for
Atari specific code. Adaptions of existing code (if in C) should be
done where possible with ifdef's. Don't forget that a lot of stuff
written for the ST is not in C, an example (the one I know best:-)):
 
            UniTerm Source + Utilities
 
            400kB Pascal source, about 200kB very machine specific
 
            100kB Small assembler routines (about 80kB fonts)
 
             15kB Fonts in GEM format
 
             10kB Font to assembler dumper
 
             ?    Font editor
 
 
>3) Binary isn't fixable.  If a .......................................
True, but a longer discussion about this was on Comp.os.minix, there
are good reasons not to distribute sources, particulary if you offer
some kind of support.
>4) Binary isn't verifiable.  With all ................................
That's one of the things a moderator is for.
 
 
                       Simon Poole
                       K538915@CZHRZU1A.BITNET