Author: Tord Romstad
Date: 09:07:26 11/09/05
Go up one level in this thread
On November 09, 2005 at 07:35:48, Eduard Nemeth wrote: >That is cool! First released the programmer of Fruit a open sourse version of >fruit (no commercioal!) for all ua people. then come Thomas Gaksch an make a >stronger Toga 0.93 and later 0.94. After this the programmer of fruit make with >Toga-Ideas a stonger Fruit 2.1. After Fruit 2.1 com Thomas and make a clear >stronger Toga II 1.0 based on Fruit. > >The Programmer of Fruit see it and make an stronger Fruit 2.2 (or Fruit WCCC 05) >an goes commercial with his strong program an make money! The above is a ridiculous misinterpretation of history. You make it sound like Toga has been a major factor in the recent improvement of Fruit, and that lots of "ideas" (I put the word in quotes because almost all of these so-called "ideas" are common computer chess techniques which have been used in dozens of other programs since a decade or more) from Toga has been added to Fruit. The truth is that the only idea from Toga which was included in Fruit 2.1 was the use of recapture and passed pawn extensions at PV nodes. Fabien thinks this was an improvement (though I a not quite convinced), but it's definitely a really tiny and insignificant part of the total improvement from Fruit 2.0 to Fruit 2.1. The improvements from Fruit 2.1 to Fruit 2.2 are, as far as I can see, completely unrelated to anything found in Toga. You try to paint a picture where the authors of Fruit and Toga have had a rather balanced set of mutual benefits from having access to each other's code. Nothing could be further from the truth. Without Toga, Fruit would be almost exactly at the same level it is today. Without Fruit, Toga would probably be an average program, or not exist at all. >Cool. > >Next will come now a another stronger programmer there will implement a nice MV >Mode and if this mode will be stronger as there by Fruit 2.2, also the >programmer of Fruit can use this sourse (MV-Mode) to make a newer and stronger >program (and more money!) on the basis of good another programmer ideas! If Thomas (or anybody else) wants to keep their techniques secret, there is a simple way to do this: Write a closed-source program, and only distribute the executable. In the case of Toga, this is not possible, for legal reasons. Toga is based on a GPL program, and the GPL license states clearly that you cannot modify and redistribute the program without also distributing the code. When you decide to base your program on GPLed code, you have to live with the consequences. It is very simple, really. >But now he goes commercial, in in this case my opinion is, that he have no more >rights on own ideas other programmers more! He never had such a right, even when Fruit was open source. Everybody has always been free to keep their ideas to themselves if they prefer. We are talking about source code, not ideas. People who want to keep their secrets just have to use something else than GPLed software as a vehicle for their ideas. I don't understand how this can be difficult to understand, nor how anybody can consider it unfair. Tord
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