The Next Big Language

[Andrej Mitrovic]

GPL or the Artistic License. But I'm not sure what the artistic
license is about. Is that the equivalent of GPL or does it have
different restrictions? I'll have to read it through..

To me, if I can read the source code then it's open source. It might
not be "GPLFREE", but quite frankly I don't care. If I can read the
code, then I can learn from it. And that's all that matters to me.

On 10/18/10, Don <nospam at nospam.com> wrote:
> Jeff Nowakowski wrote:
>> On 10/18/2010 04:59 AM, Jonathan M Davis wrote:
>>>
>>> Java was big long before it was open-sourced, and C# is big in spite
>>> of the fact
>>> that its main compiler isn't open source and the one that is (Mono) is
>>> so far
>>> behind the main one that many people totally discount it.
>>
>> Java and C# were pushed by big companies. Pretty much any other popular
>> language these days is open source.
>>
>>> I really don't understand the complaints about the lack of an open source
>>> compiler for D, but then again, I've always been pro-open source and
>>> anti-free
>>> software (I think that the FSF is nuts, personally), so that may be why.
>>
>> I really don't understand why you say you don't understand. You list the
>> reasons why open source is good. Not everybody has the luxury of
>> plopping down a $1000 for a compiler. People don't want vendor lock-in.
>> Open source is a popular movement, and you say you're pro-open source,
>> and you don't understand why D gets knocked for not being so?
>
> The problem is that D is getting attacked _as if it were closed source_,
> which is completely untrue! The source code for ALL D compilers is
> freely available at no charge. closed source != !open.
>
> There are many, very strong disadvantages of closed source vs Open
> Source, but most don't apply to D.
>
> I see only two disadvantages with the DMD backend vs Open Source:
> (1) we carry the risk that something happens to Walter;
> (2) DMD cannot be included in Linux distributions.
>
> But since the front-end is GPLed, these apply only to the backend.
>
> It really seems to be a philosophical objection rather than a practical
> one. Or else based on a misunderstanding.
>
>
>