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Originally Posted by
Mario F.
SlyMaelstrom pretty much answered this already. However there's a hidden false belief in this emphatic declaration (as is the case with most emphatic declarations) that I feel I need to address as a representative of that group of professional programmers.
And that is, Professional programmers somehow privileging open formats.
Nothing further from the truth. Professional programmers are neutral towards the whole issue. If an open format benefits their work, they will implement it. If copyright, trade secrets or other constraints will benefit their work more, they will implement instead a closed format and won't even flinch. And make no mistake about this.
I guess we have simply had different careers; I learned early-on that it is dangerous for any project to rely on closed, non-standard APIs. Maybe this is because I have been doing this since the early 80's and for better or worse, had to support multiple operating systems on just about every project. I have had to fire "professional" programmers who leaned too much on cute platform-specific hacks at the risk of project longevity. The true pragmatists learn to stick to standards so that code maintenance doesn't become costly.
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And this is the part you and others who cannot detach themselves from Linux usage and Linux philosophy constantly fail to grasp. That any ethical or moral considerations should be left for the quality of your work and not computer religion.
When you come here one day and talk computers and talk software development in a pragmatic manner you will get my respect and my attention as a fellow software developer who's been around the block for a long time when software development was discussed still only on the grounds of how good the code was or how well fit a programming language was.
A. Who brought up religion? You did. Methinks you doth protest too much. B. At any given time I am working with and coding for at least 2 if not 3 operating systems. Linux does give me measurable, quantifiable value the others do not. It doesn't get much more pragmatic than that. I too believe in the right tool for the right job. Mario, you *talk* like you have a lot of experience but it just isn't reflected in your ideas. As for your respect, I have the respect of those I respect and therefore neither crave nor desire yours. Respect is earned.
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But until then, and while you insist on discussing these things as a matter of faith, philosophy and some sort of cultural revolution only you believe will ever succeed in a world ruled by economics, I will look at you as I look at any other religious maniac. Uneducated, unexperienced and too easy to fool by the promise of higher goals.
Religious maniac? Wow. I have no idea what cultural revolution or philosophy you are ranting about; I see nothing religious about embracing open standards but I guess you do. A software developer can enjoy open standards and even open source software without being Richard Stallman or....you. Like I said, I get real measurable value from it. If that makes me a 'maniac' then so be it. I think part of the problem with your argument is that you truly don't know who you are talking to. That is the only reason I can think of for the ridiculous things you are saying.
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And for your information, I use Linux and I promote and support Open Source software. What I don't do is brand it like a weapon against what eventually puts the food on my table. From someone who has seen its share of open source code and teams, Open Source is no more ethical than closed source. Neither are Open Source developers better people than closed source developers, their code of better quality or their people less susceptible to have complete arseholes in their midst. In fact, I'd trade an open source team for a software development company any day of the week for the vast majority of current open projects out there. There's too many incompetent fools pretending they are open source developers these days.
...and so you make my point for me. ^__^