Jerzy Karczmarczuk writes ("Re: Clean and Haskell"):
> Ian Jackson:
> > The operating system I run on my computers, Debian (www.debian.org),
> > consists only of software and documentation to which I have (or can
> > download) the source code, which I can use at work as well at home, to
> > which I can make modifications if I need or want to, and which I can
> > share (modified or not) with anyone else. The same applies to the
> > implementations I use of the languages I write in. Millions of people
> > like me have made the same choice.
>
> I am not an advocate of Rinus Plasmeijer, but I use, and I WILL USE
> Clean, for me it *is* free. I find it slightly preposterous to insist
> on the freedom to modify the source code, almost nobody does that.
We're programmers here, aren't we ? Modifying source code is what we
do. If I encounter a bug in software I'm using I don't want to be
prevented from finding and fixing it !
In fact, despite been very much a newbie to the Haskell world I have
already built the Glasgow compiler from source in order to make a few
small modifications to it that I needed, and I've had a level of
support from the GHC team which is not usually available for
proprietary software at any price I could afford (and I'm not poor!).
Fundamentally, I like to work in a programming environment where I can
do everything right (as I see it), and where I can treat the people I
meet as friends and colleagues rather than as revenue and/or costs.
> The fact that there is only one implementation is *NOT THE FAULT OF
> HILT*.
Did I say it was anyone's fault ? I wasn't blaming anyone. I just
said that I, like many people, prefer not to use a proprietary
compiler.
> You may write your own if you wish, isn't it? The Clean language is not
> patented as far as I know.
Indeed. But, as a novice to functional programming, I prefer to use
an existing compiler than write my own !
If you want more people to use Clean, it's your problem that I choose
not to use a language with no free compiler. If you want me to use
Clean so much, go and write the free compiler yourself, or persuade
HILT to make theirs free.
As an aside, it's obvious you have a bit of a chip on your shoulder
about GNU and the FSF. I'm sorry if free software advocates are
annoying to you, but we feel that this is one of the most exciting and
important issues in the software world at the moment. I hope we'll
convince you, and look forward to seeing you on our side of the
barricades when the revolution comes :-).
Ian.
