Author: Robert Hyatt
Date: 07:21:34 03/19/00
Go up one level in this thread
On March 19, 2000 at 04:27:14, Will Singleton wrote: >On March 18, 2000 at 11:13:05, Richard Heldmann wrote: > >>Just a short thank you to all computer chess programmers who've provided their >>source code with their programs. I am a novice programmer with "big" >>dreams(yacp) and the opportunity to look at their source code and learn is very >>much appreciated. >> >>Thank you all, >> >>Rick Heldmann > >I dissent, not that it matters much, but what the heck. Sharing ideas, time and >enthusiasm with others is great. Actually distributing complete source, while >very interesting to have and beneficial in many ways, does some things which >together outweigh the benefit: > >- It diminishes the need to create, therefore reducing creativity, which hinders >advancement. >- It allows, or rather encourages, cheating. >- It causes people to question a program's heritage, if a program performs well. >- It makes some of us folks, who have worked for years studying and caring about >computer-chess, mad as hell because others can pick up some source, fool with it >for a week, and claim a new program. > >There are also people who spread rumors. When they contact me about some >suspected source-code cheat, I now decline to get into it. That's because as >long as people are releasing source code, there is simply no way to know who is >real and who isn't. I also find it odd that some rumor-spreaders are also those >who release source. > >Beyond that, I adhere to the tenets of free markets, which are well known. In >the end, society is better served due to the effects of competition. Sharing >source reduces competition, therefore creativity, and ultimately, performance. > >I realize there are good people who disagree, but I think my view is worth >mentioning. > >Will All good points... but you overlook one important aspect of 'cheating'. I was personally involved in handling a dispute at an ACM event _many_ years ago, where someone copied a commercial program, used a debugger to change most of the strings inside it, and then tried to pass it off as their own program for a microcomputer championship. IE it is probably impossible to prevent cheating, and rumors of cheating. As far as 'spreading rumors' remember that (a) it is _impossible_ to investigate possible 'cheating' without contacting others. And that perhaps if you were contacted, it might have been (a) that your opinion was respected rather than (b) rumors were being spread. ?? gnuchess has been public forever. It has become the basis for many programs. That may or may not be a bad thing. I personally had access to several chess program sources over the years, including Coko, Greenblatt, sargon, chess 4.x, and a couple of others I probably forgot. Nothing I have every played as my own program was based on any of those... I would suspect most are like me in that respect. But no doubt there _are_ exceptions. We will continue to see Voyagers, Le Petites, and others...
This page took 0.01 seconds to execute
Last modified: Thu, 15 Apr 21 08:11:13 -0700
Current Computer Chess Club Forums at Talkchess. This site by Sean Mintz.