| ??? 10/27/07 23:12 Read: times |
#146302 - not really Responding to: ???'s previous message |
Erik Malund said:
Richard Erlacher said: With the ARM, you can develop on a native LINUX and port the code using widely accepted, supported, and understood software tools.
There's no comparison at all! which serious developer would want to use tools with no guaranteed support? I can see hobbyists liking 'free' and I doubt it matters what the part costs in quantities under 1k units. Only developers, who can get the small quantities for free for the asking as samples, and hobbyists, who really don't matter to the manufacturer, care about quantities under 100. the first quote states that hobbyists like the ARM, the second states that it does not matter what hobbyists want. {my minor corrections of spelling, etc.} Which commercial enterprise guarantees anything in a way that YOU can enforce? When they fix something it's just because it's in their commercial interest to do so. They just ignore "minor" bugs. I've been watching SDCC's mailing list for a number of years, yet haven't yet seen even one bug go unhandled within a few days. Usually it's not a bug at all. Sometimes it's handled by referring to the doc. This often has the advantage of forcing the documentation into more current form. When was the last time you saw commercial software with current-version documentation? When was the last time you saw ANY current documentation for a Microsoft product? Erik That's not what it says. It says that one is free to use the free software that already works very well, in an environment that already works MUCH better and more reliably than WINDOWS, despite the fact it's offered at no cost, and which is certain to be maintained without being subject to the whims of profit-oriented management. The support structure is not mandatory, of course. It's sort of like ideal communism "... each is served according to his needs, and each serves according to his ability ..." Naturally, there'll be some slackers, and many who simply lack the ability to provide useful support. The fact that you, Erik, keep coming back to this support issue suggests a guilty conscience. Back in the days when I was a German, we used to have a saying, "Wass ich denk und tuh, trau ich anderen zu." In that sense, I'd guess you're concerned that others won't support LINUX tools because YOU wouldn't. That doesn't happen to be the case, so, just because you lack the time, will, resources, or whatever, to contribute, there'll still be excellent and timely support. It's very much like using your Public Broadcasting System TV station. You still get to watch, despite the fact you either do or don't donate. I doubt you lose any sleep over it. I don't recommend you retain whatever feelings of guilt you may have regarding open-source software. The guys who thought it up knew that most users wouldn't contribute. Often just the occasional bug report is enough to be helpful. RE |
