Re: new releases [was Re: Official public code repository]

["Jim Whitehead II" <jnwhiteh@...>]

On Dec 27, 2007 9:40 AM, Tim Kelly <gtkelly@dialectronics.com> wrote:
> Apparently my explaining how things work in North America is misunderstood.  I am not arguing in favor of it (although I happen to like capitalism).  I am stating what the business environment is like here.  It seems to have worked well for Microsoft, IBM, Red Hat, and many others.  Given that this model is so entrenched here, if a bidder were to say they products do not need ongoing maintainence, they will be eliminated from consideration as being a liar.  Everyone here knows that Windows and Linux (and even BSDs) need patching regularly and so do the scripting languages, as they are all full of security holes.  If you argue that you have products that do not have such issues, the company's IT department will laugh at you.  If you are IT and do not need to constantly patch users' computers, you will be fired as incompetent.

I think this paragraph is a good microcosm of this entire thread.  You
are not being attacked, but the specific ideas YOU require in YOUR
specific situation are being attacked.  You are beating us over the
head with your specific situation, but instead of stopping there you
make rash generalizations about the state of software development in
North America.  This is so absurd I don't even know where to begin.
There are people on this list that have plenty of experience pitching
software solutions for contracts, and the passionate "truths" you are
throwing out are nothing more than specific situations you have
experienced.  They are not universal truths.

No one here is asking you to use Lua.  No one here is pushing the
language on you.  If you and your clients don't think its the best
solution for the job, by all means don't use it.  You seem to be
asking (in my opinion) for nothing more than smoke and mirrors to get
you a few more contracts in a language that you happen to want to use
for development.

Lua is strong (in my opinion) because the language designers have
exercised restraint, continued development in the way they best see
fit, and haven't bowed down to every request that comes down the pike.
 You may see a roadmap and "official support" as the key to using Lua,
but in my experience, that isn't whats important.  What is important
is that the language is clean, clear, and easy to be modified and
maintained by anyone who decides to use it.

The rest has been said by everyone else in the thread, but I would
appreciate if you stop making rash generalizations about an industry,
a field, a country, or an entire continent based on your own personal
experiences.

- Jim