Author: Dann Corbit
Date: 16:20:32 05/12/05
Go up one level in this thread
On May 12, 2005 at 18:43:54, Rolf Tueschen wrote: >On May 12, 2005 at 18:26:32, Dann Corbit wrote: > >>On May 12, 2005 at 18:20:12, Robert Hollay wrote: >> >>> When you buy Delphi, you automaticaly get rights to use certain libraries >>>in your CLOSED SOURCE projects. Whereas with GNU GPL licence (Fruit) >>>you have rights to modify the sources, but they must remain open. >>> On the other side, I'm not sure that making chess engines open source was a >>>good practice. People could share ideas, algorithms, code samples, etc... but >>>when >>>a magician reveals ALL his tricks to the public, then the magic disappears ... >> >>Which is (of course) a good thing. >> >>>Computer chess is a hobby, a game, a competition, and not so vital to the >>>human race that one is supposed to share all his secrets with others. >> >>The algorithms of chess are benefical for many things. It is an abstract search >>of a complicated solution space. There are many tasks in life that can use the >>same ideas. >> >>>Exactly these little secrets can make it exciting! >> >>Hiding information is for lazy people. C. A. R. Hoare inveted a sort routine >>called quicksort a while back. He showed other people how to do it. What an >>evil man?! >> >>> And just one more thing. If you place a well-laid table full of delicious food >>> in the centre of a city full of starving people, then you shouldn't expect >>>that the table remains untouched ... maybe in fairy tales! >> >>If you publish a book, you should expect people to steal it then? >> >>>Robert > > >If you've read a book full of smart ideas, is it your position that you are NOT >allowed to use the new ideas in your own work? No. That is neither expressed nor denied in what I have said. The ideas are free to use. The code is not. In a similar way, I can write a story about tigers. You can read my story and write a story about tigers. But if your story is the same as mine, then there may be problems. And if you copy my book and add a few tiny tweaks, then you have definitely stolen (unless the copyright has expired). >I don't understand why you read >books at all, if that should be your position. That is not my position. >The same is it if you use parts of open sources which have impressed you in your >own work. You can use open source if you follow the license agreements. It is not difficult at all to do that. >Dann, before I ask some more questions to your other message, could you give me >your opinion about the following? > >Are you absolutely sure that for example SHREDDER, to take just the actually >best program, is absolutely without any ideas or code from such open sources? You can never be absolutely sure of anything. I belive that SMK is an original author of his program. >Even I as lay can imagine that someone with enough talents could hide or >re-write such code to make him appear innocent. And to the best of my mind I >didn't hear about a human being other than Stefan who has seen Stefan's code. I do not think we should expect that everyone is a thief. I do not expect that we should imagine that anyone is a thief. If strong evidence becomes available, then it may deserve a look. >I do NOT claim that SHREDDER contains any forbidden parts. My question was if >you could prove if there were such code. I doubt if I could prove it. If there was stolen code in Shredder, it might show up and become detected. I think that SMK is a good and honest person and he would not do that. >What do readers think about it?
This page took 0 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.