On Fri, 15 Feb 2002, Daniel Walker wrote: [...]
Wine is a _re_implementation .. 90% of the code we write is double work, triple work sometimes .. It doesn't bother me that we had to rewrite something, since after all that is what we do.. Wouldn't we have it easy is Microsoft would just release their source? The real question is, if Wine was GPL'd would TransGaming have written the DCOM code in the first place?
No, the real question is whether Transgaming would have written the DCOM code if CodeWeavers had not released its typelib code in the first place.
Because it seems to me that one of the main arguments of the BSD proponents is that we are stupid and that we should have kept all the code for ourselves. Maybe they are right. But which of the following two scenarios leads to the more healthy Wine and Wine marketplace?
* The one where we released our window-management code, did dll separation work, added cross-process handle support, added cross-process messaging, released our typelib code (essential for InstallShield/COM support), released our true-type support, improved winelib and released countless bug fixes.
* Or the one where the public Wine has none of the above (unless new volunters had magically sprung up out of thin air).
Where would the first scenario, which appears to be what BSD proponents advocate, leave the Wine community? Which one do Transgaming and Lindows prefer? Do they really prefer not to benefit from any of our code in the future?
The Wine competitive landscape has changed a lot in the past year, and I believe that it is unpractical for us to continue releasing all our code under the current license. We could definitely turn our Wine proprietary but as the above scenario illustrates this would be bad for the Wine community, including for our competitors; even if they don't realise it. And I believe that all Wine companies need a thriving open-source Wine. That's why I think it is important for us (Wine community + CodeWeavers + Transgaming + Lindows) to find a better solution.
(disclaimer: yes, I am a CodeWeavers employee even if it is not obvious from my email address, no, this may not represent my employer's opinion, etc, etc. again, see my email address)
-- Francois Gouget fgouget@free.fr http://fgouget.free.fr/ Cahn's Axiom: When all else fails, read the instructions.