--- Dustin Puryear <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > At 07:05 PM 4/10/2002 -0700, you wrote: > >Because open source means open libraries, open > >documentation and open standards, whereas closed > >source means that not everything is disclosed. > > > >And what I said initially was that it is easier to > >screw up closed source because the libraries/APIs > are > >not fully disclosed. At least in M$'s case. > > That might have been implied, but wasn't stated.
Yeah, yeah. Whatever. > Regardless, I'm not sure > that I fully agree with this train of thought. Some > products do fully > disclose their APIs. If it's closed source, how do know if the API is fully disclosed or not? You can't know. It comes down to trust. And I trust open source more than I trust closed source (commercial) software, but at least the software can be compared to the API. > In that situation is it still > the case that it is > easier to introduce errors into code in close source > projects? Situation does not exist, see above. Your trust in commercial software's disclosed API/documentation is my measure of how much advertising dollars they have thrown at you. > All in all though, I do agree that more > documentation does provide better > results. Duh. > I'm not sure though if we can use a blanket > statement that open > source software is better documented in a [form that > is immediately > usable]. It's not. It can be. You can't verify that closed source is fully documented. Therein lies the rub. > However, the fact that you can view open > source code gives you the > potential for more documentation, but it also > requires more work. So that > is a trade-off if you follow that line of reasoning. > Wow, did I really just hold my own in an argument with Dustin? I'm going to Disneyland! John Hebert > Regards, Dustin > > > > >John Hebert > > > >--- Dustin Puryear <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > At 05:39 PM 4/10/2002 -0700, you wrote: > > > >Yes. > > > > > > How does writing open source software reduce the > > > number of errors that you > > > introduce into code? In my view open source > software > > > only increases the > > > number of eyeballs that can spot those errors. > > > > > > Regards, Dustin > > > > > > > > > > > > >John Hebert > > > > > > > >--- Dustin Puryear <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > At 03:25 PM 4/10/2002 -0700, you wrote: > > > > > >Sounds like a combination of problems. But, > > > when it > > > > > >comes to tracking down problems, I _always_ > > > suspect > > > > > >software, not hardware, first. Software is > just > > > > > easier > > > > > >to screw up, especially on a closed source > > > > > operating > > > > > >system. Now, it may be that the hardware in > the > > > > > > > > > > Do you think closed software is easier to > "screw > > > up" > > > > > or simply more > > > > > difficult to fix? Does writing open source > > > software > > > > > reduce the number of > > > > > errors you introduce into code, or increase > the > > > > > number of people able to > > > > > spot the errors? > > > > > > > > > > Regards, Dustin > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > --- > > > > > Dustin Puryear <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > > > UNIX and Network Consultant > > > > > http://members.telocity.com/~dpuryear > > > > > PGP Key available at http://www.us.pgp.net > > > > > In the beginning the Universe was created. > > > > > This has been widely regarded as a bad move. > - > > > > > Douglas Adams > > > > > > > > > > > ================================================ > > > > > BRLUG - The Baton Rouge Linux User Group > > > > > Visit http://www.brlug.net for more > information. > > > > > Send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] to change > > > > > your subscription information. > > > > > > ================================================ > > > > > > > > > > > > >__________________________________________________ > > > >Do You Yahoo!? > > > >Yahoo! Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax > > > >http://taxes.yahoo.com/ > > > > >================================================ > > > >BRLUG - The Baton Rouge Linux User Group > > > >Visit http://www.brlug.net for more > information. > > > >Send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] to change > > > >your subscription information. > > > > >================================================ > > > > > > > > > --- > > > Dustin Puryear <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > UNIX and Network Consultant > > > http://members.telocity.com/~dpuryear > > > PGP Key available at http://www.us.pgp.net > > > In the beginning the Universe was created. > > > This has been widely regarded as a bad move. - > > > Douglas Adams > > > > > > ================================================ > > > BRLUG - The Baton Rouge Linux User Group > > > Visit http://www.brlug.net for more information. > > > Send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] to change > > > your subscription information. > > > ================================================ > > > > > >__________________________________________________ > >Do You Yahoo!? > >Yahoo! Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax > >http://taxes.yahoo.com/ > >================================================ > >BRLUG - The Baton Rouge Linux User Group > >Visit http://www.brlug.net for more information. > >Send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] to change > >your subscription information. > >================================================ > > > --- > Dustin Puryear <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > UNIX and Network Consultant > http://members.telocity.com/~dpuryear > PGP Key available at http://www.us.pgp.net > In the beginning the Universe was created. > This has been widely regarded as a bad move. - > Douglas Adams > > ================================================ > BRLUG - The Baton Rouge Linux User Group > Visit http://www.brlug.net for more information. > Send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] to change > your subscription information. > ================================================ __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! 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