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From: jdow@gryphon.CTS.COM (Joanne Dow)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: sources to dvi2iff, version -1; tcp/ip for amiga
Message-ID: <1650@gryphon.CTS.COM>
Date: Tue, 22-Sep-87 15:24:01 EDT
Article-I.D.: gryphon.1650
Posted: Tue Sep 22 15:24:01 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 25-Sep-87 07:19:16 EDT
References: <503@louie.udel.EDU> <1929@umd5.umd.edu> <775@sugar.UUCP> <156@splut.UUCP>
Reply-To: jdow@gryphon.CTS.COM (Joanne Dow)
Organization: Wizardess Designs
Lines: 47
Keywords: Hacked OS sources
Summary: Can't safely release the sources. vide C-64 mess. minor flame.

In article <156@splut.UUCP> stu@splut.UUCP (Stewart Cobb) writes:
>
>Practice:  A lot of Official Commodore People read this net.  Perhaps
>one of them can give me an answer (Official or not) to this question:
>
>   Why hasn't Commodore released the source to the operating system?
>
>   Think about it.  They can't be afraid of pirates: everyone who has an
>Amiga gets a copy of the OS, gratis.  Are they afraid someone would hack
>it up into a better OS?

Speaking as one who would herself adore having a set of the OS sources I still
support C='s holding them close to their vests. Look at what happened in the
C-64 world with everybody and his uncle hacking directly into OS internals.
Can you imagine the chaos that would result when 1.3 comes out if this were
commonplace on the Amiga? If you STILL want public sources I propose putting
your name on it and letting you personally take the heat when all the programs
that used "hidden internal" entry points died with improved versions. This way
folks HAVE to use approved entrys. This leaves C= the necessary slack to
optimize internal code, alter internal code, and add improvements in left over
space as long as they keep the advertised interface to spec. (If they can get
it there to begin with.)

If you want to improve the OS so much by hacking why not do what I and others,
notably Charlie Heath and crew doing the ARP library and BCPL program
replacements, have done. We rebuild what displeases us and link it in via
proper library linkages. That is at least quite legal and proper. Just don't
hack inside, please. I can't imagine a machine like the Amiga surviving with
developers hying off after which ever hacker's version of the OS pleases them
at the moment. At least now all programs run off the same OS (unless they're one
of the nasty hacks on 1.1...) and can often (not often enough) work properly
TOGETHER.

I suppose I've flamed enough. I'll just say again that I have repeatedly asked
Andy for copies ofthis or that piece of source and been peeved when i can't get
it. Still, I find that in my more lucid moments I have to support the non-
release decision.


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