Date:	Wed, 17 Sep 1997 15:45:53 -0400 (EDT)
From:	"Mike A. Harris" <mharris AT blackwidow DOT saultc DOT on DOT ca>
To:	Joseph Morris <b52g AT usa DOT net>
cc:	opendos AT delorie DOT com
Subject:	Re: Are you sure you _want_ the sources?
In-Reply-To:	<ww03-BikHzi2751@netaddress.usa.net>
Message-ID:	<Pine.LNX.3.95.970917154128.12102F-100000@capslock.com>
Organization:	Capslock Computer Consulting
MIME-Version:	1.0

On Thu, 11 Sep 1997, Joseph Morris wrote:

> While I agree with much of what has been said about the release of the
> sources, there is one thing that appears to have been overlooked:
> 
> Are you sure that you really want the utility sources anyway?

Downplaying it?
 
> The sources are terribly messy, and very hard to understand.
> Much of them is not commented, except for what the original authors
> felt was important (Three of the key authors are not at Caldera).

Yeah, perusing the kernel source shows that as well.
 
> The sources do not use the standard C_libs, instead they use a 
> portable library known as appslib, which contains all the c-lib functions, but
> written in a mishmash of pre-ansi C, RASM86 files, and some freaky
> script language that controls the Dual Lanaguage support.
> There are some very strange tricks in the code (eg, a 30+ line 
> multiply routine, to run faster on 8086s).

Yes, but one of our plans was to recode it to use a standard FREE
C compiler and assembler, or at least make it so it only required
a SINGLE C compiler (BCC for example).

This would all have been done knowing in advance that the sources
were spagetti (which they very much are).

> They are all tied into the legendary VersionControlSystem.
> Gene will be an old man by the time all these have been made into a
> format useful to anyone else.

Yeah, but as stated before, releasing them in any format would
make the porting process faster.  If someone downloads a VCS of
DRDOS and it is useless to them then they will delete it.  Those
that DO have it though can aide the project.
 
> An in-joke at Caldera is "When are you going to re-write it then?"
> which is the usual comment made when someone begins editing a utility.
> 
> So there might be some anguish if the sources _were_ suddenly 
> released..

Heheheh.  <ILINWABFG>  ;o)

Mike A. Harris        |  Homepage:  http://blackwidow.saultc.on.ca/~mharris
Computer Consultant   |  Am I online? -  finger or ping capslock.dyn.ml.org
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