Missionaries of the GNU Testament (was Re: ITP ptolemy?)
On Mon, Jun 18, 2001 at 02:59:54PM +0200, David N. Welton wrote:
> Hamish Moffatt <hamish@debian.org> writes:
>
> > The included version seems to be tcl 7.6, itcl 2.2 and tk 4.2.
>
> Which are years out of date, and I don't know if they're actively
> supported, either... Looks like "Scientist Code" from hell;-)
maybe it's time for debian to send out missionaries to spread the
word of GNU and the doctrine of BSD - to teach modern free software
programming methodology :)
that's said in a joking manner, but with serious intent. we've learnt a
lot in the last few years - valuable lessons in designing and developing
complete systems (i.e. the "big picture" of systems design rather
than the fine details of a single application) that would be useful
in the fringes of the free software world - physicists, biologists,
astronomers, scientists in general and other professions & individuals
who use & develop free software because it's the best way of getting
their jobs done and sharing their work with their peers, rather than
free software for its own sake.
some of this happens anyway as a matter of course - e.g. when a debian
package maintainer adopts a package because they use it at work, or
when a scientist or other professional becomes a debian developer in
order to help make a system that works for their peers "out of the box".
perhaps all that's needed here is a more conscious awareness of the
mentoring role that debian and the free software community in general
can provide...and calls for volunteers to help modernise & clean up
crufty old code too, of course.
craig
--
craig sanders <cas@taz.net.au>
Fabricati Diem, PVNC.
-- motto of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch
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