Self on Linux [Was: [self-interest] license (was: Self on Solaris for Intel?)]

[Gordon F. Cichon]

Dru Nelson wrote:
> I vote for whichever you are comfortable with.
> I remember asking Gordon a while back about the GPL thing, and it
> was just because he used GAS.
> 
> Due to the nature of Self, if the base-protos/traitslasses one uses are
> not considered use by the GPL, then that will make everyone happy.

Hi folks,

just to put my 2 cents to this discussion:

My idea when starting the Linux port was to create a platform for
experimental object oriented programming in a collaborative effort. I
did donate the code I have written because I expected to mutually
benefit this way from stuff that other people do as well. And, as far as
I understood it, it was not about any software framework, not any Self
code, but just the basic means to run Self code at all. Frankly speaken,
as adaptive compilation becomes a commodity, I do not see any great
business opportunity in the engine itself at all. And even if it was, I
would not like to get anybody into the big business with my code without
including me. 

And compared to all this fancy Design Pattern stuff, Self has lost
meanwhile a little bit of the leading edge it used to have. However, I
think it is still attractive to experiment with prototypical programming
style in general, and as a platform to prove that prototypical is useful
at all anyway, well, however, if somebody ever got to implement a bigger
software package on it.

On the other side, after I contributed a month and several weekends of
my precios time, I have to admit being a little bit disappointed of it
all because I am not aware of anybody else touching code which is not
written by himself anyway. I mean, there is Self for Sparc, Self for
Macintosh, Self for Java, Merlin Self, Tiny Self, MySelf, and nobody
likes to share anything. Nobody is gaining anything this way. You did
not get rich with proprietary code in the last 5 years, and you wont in
the next 5 years, I promise you.

So, if you like to run a prototype based language on a platform better
than a sandbox, with people around with real computer expertise more
than just clicking on fancy looking buttons on GUIs, you need to port it
to Linux. period. And, execpt for the very language core, all the other
software on top of it can still stay BSD, or proprietary. And with even
the primitive Macintosh-like interpreter-only system, there a good
chances to develop some synergies with other GPLed projects which
urgently need adaptive compilation techniques, i.e., FreeCPU, Plex86,
PHP, Perl, Tcl, Python, and so forth, to actually get a very good
compiler for Self almost FOR FREE. Imagine that!

So, guys, if you really like to do something good, get down to earth,
stop every other Self project you are currently working on, be a hero,
and contribute getting the very core Self engine portable first! Please! 

Gordon.