Geeky types love to debate. And source control is one of those topics geeks debate about non stop. I am no different. At every new job I've had, I've always battled with crap source control tools (or with none at all) and argued with managers to at least start some change for the better.
I came across this: Dear Eric... you should use git-svn
I wish Erik (with a k), the head maintainer of a project I often work with would adopt git.
Showing posts with label software. Show all posts
Showing posts with label software. Show all posts
Monday, 3 December 2007
Friday, 8 June 2007
GPLv3, DRM, and Tivoisation simplified
DRM is about restricting access to digital information. It's like building a digital fence around your movie, song or program. Once that fence is built, what's inside can be protected against modification, kept secret and/or admission can be charged.
The makers of the Tivo product have used DRM to erect fences around their products and the GPLv2 software that runs on them. Many authors of GPLv2 software are upset at this, because they see it as restricting access to property they donated for public use. But alas, there is nothing they can do. When GPLv2, was written, fences like DRM weren't invented and this possibility was not forseen. GPLv3 is required to fix this loophole. It explicitly states that, if you are not the copyright holder of a piece of software, you are not permitted to erect a DRM fence around the software without supplying the means to access it (the key to the gate).
What has this got to do with my music and high definition DVDs? Not much really. Publishers own the content and they can distribute it any way they want. If you don't like the DRM restrictions then there are other entertainment options out there. You should probably try them.
The makers of the Tivo product have used DRM to erect fences around their products and the GPLv2 software that runs on them. Many authors of GPLv2 software are upset at this, because they see it as restricting access to property they donated for public use. But alas, there is nothing they can do. When GPLv2, was written, fences like DRM weren't invented and this possibility was not forseen. GPLv3 is required to fix this loophole. It explicitly states that, if you are not the copyright holder of a piece of software, you are not permitted to erect a DRM fence around the software without supplying the means to access it (the key to the gate).
What has this got to do with my music and high definition DVDs? Not much really. Publishers own the content and they can distribute it any way they want. If you don't like the DRM restrictions then there are other entertainment options out there. You should probably try them.
Friday, 30 March 2007
Gtk+ vs Qt
If you are developing a GUI application for a Unix OS, selecting a toolkit is a trickier decision than you might think. The two main desktop environment contenders these days are KDE and Gnome. Both are nice clean interfaces whose latest versions are well equipped to handle any UI problem that you will throw at them. Underlying each of these are windowing toolkits used to present the respective user interface elements. Gtk+ for Gnome and Qt for KDE. Which desktop environment do I target and which toolkit do I use?
Qt (on which the KDE desktop environment is built on) is owned by Trolltech. Trolltech maintains strict control over the Qt framework making it a Trolltech product. You become a Trolltech customer if you use Qt. Qt and it's derivatives are commercial products which Trolltech releases under a GPL only license. This means if your product uses Qt it must be GPL or (or an FSF approved license) or you must pay Trolltech licensing fees.
Gtk+ (on which GNOME is built upon), is a community project with many commercial and volunteer members. It's being developed under the GNU umbrella and is LGPL licensed. This means you don't have to pay licensing fees to use it commercially and you are free to open or close source your project at your discretion. If you find yourself making additions to the Gtk+ framework, you can submit them to the community for review and they may be accepted.
If your project is purely commercial then both are acceptable choices. Trolltech will happily help you if you pay a licensing fee, and a Gtk+ community member may help you if you pay them for their time. If your project is purely open source than both are also acceptable. The problem comes if your project could be comercial or it could be open source or it could be something in between then Gtk+ becomes the only choice.
Qt (on which the KDE desktop environment is built on) is owned by Trolltech. Trolltech maintains strict control over the Qt framework making it a Trolltech product. You become a Trolltech customer if you use Qt. Qt and it's derivatives are commercial products which Trolltech releases under a GPL only license. This means if your product uses Qt it must be GPL or (or an FSF approved license) or you must pay Trolltech licensing fees.
Gtk+ (on which GNOME is built upon), is a community project with many commercial and volunteer members. It's being developed under the GNU umbrella and is LGPL licensed. This means you don't have to pay licensing fees to use it commercially and you are free to open or close source your project at your discretion. If you find yourself making additions to the Gtk+ framework, you can submit them to the community for review and they may be accepted.
If your project is purely commercial then both are acceptable choices. Trolltech will happily help you if you pay a licensing fee, and a Gtk+ community member may help you if you pay them for their time. If your project is purely open source than both are also acceptable. The problem comes if your project could be comercial or it could be open source or it could be something in between then Gtk+ becomes the only choice.
Tuesday, 30 January 2007
Fonts!
I need free asian fonts for a project I'm working on. In my travels I've come across a few cool things.
- Mojibake. Now you know what to call it when you surf to a foreign language web page and your computer screen shows gobledeygook.
- Wikipedia help on getting east asian fonts to work.
- The Unicode font guide. Discussions on what font for which language.
- Freedesktop.org's CJK font page
Tuesday, 9 January 2007
RMS, software's Confucius.
In 1991 Richard Stallman (or RMS) created version 2 of the GNU General Public License . It is my personal belief that by writing this 18KB of American English he has done more for software development than anybody who has written 18MB of code. He is to software developers as Confucius is to Chinese society. I'm looking forward to the final version of GPLv3 and working on or with a project that uses it.
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