[Gllug] Hypothetical GPL question

Paul Brazier pbrazier at cosmos-uk.co.uk
Mon Oct 8 16:52:47 UTC 2001


> > I even wrote a small implementation on the "Life" cellular
> > automaton using this method and a printed reference of 6502 assembly
> > codes from a BBC micro manual.
> 
> Correct me if I'm wrong but assembly != machine code, right?
> 
> If you really were writing in machine code, you really are a sick man
> and need help. :)

I'm afraid perhaps I do (or did) need help :-)
The translation from assembly code to machine code was done by hand as I
didn't have an assembler.
You could say the source code was then the assembly program written on
paper but then so would a pseudo-code written for a C program.
So I really did type in the program in machine code (though it was very
small).
Another problem was that there was no hard drive and the only storage I
had was an audio tape drive that kept crashing and took several attempts
and several minutes to save or reload any program you'd written. :(
 
> > To a non-programmer, access to C source code would be just 
> as helpful as
> > access to the "machine source code" i.e. the binary.
> 
> Not at all.  The GPL doesn't just protect programmers but anyone else
> too.  Even if you can't code yourself, you can pay/convince someone to
> do it for you if it's worth that much to you.  This is why, especially
> for businesses, basing your business on closed source code is a no-no.
> 
> In fact, you'll find that many companies when they do base their
> business on a particular piece of software insist that the source be
> placed in escrow for the possibility that the vendor goes broke.

I totally agree that the GPL is a Good Thing, I have the problem where I
work of outside contractors writing buggy closed-source programs then
charging a fortune to "fix" them (plus expecting us to figure out what
the problem is). I'm just trying to think of ways it could be abused.
In theory we know exactly how Windows or other closed-source software is
coded because we can see the machine code. In practice we need a higher
level abstraction to understand it in a reasonable time.


**********************************************************************
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and
intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they
are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify
the originator.

This footnote also confirms that this email message has been checked
for the presence of computer viruses.

**********************************************************************


-- 
Gllug mailing list  -  Gllug at linux.co.uk
http://list.ftech.net/mailman/listinfo/gllug




More information about the GLLUG mailing list