[Oberon] revisions in sources.

[Chris Burrows]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Oberon [mailto:oberon-bounces at lists.inf.ethz.ch] On Behalf Of
> peter at easthope.ca
> Sent: Saturday, 17 September 2016 12:43 AM
> To: oberon at lists.inf.ethz.ch
> Subject: [Oberon] Re (2): revisions in sources.
> 
> > If I am interested in the detail of the code changes I keep
> snapshots
> > of the source folder(s) and use a difference listing / merge tool
> like
> > BeyondCompare (a Windows application by Scooter Software) to
> identify
> > /synchronise the code changes.
> 
> A personal archive.  You don't sell Astobe with a list of revisions
> for the buyer to make before using.  Correct?
> 

Not correct - 'sell' is the key difference here. Every release of the
*commercial* version of Astrobe is accompanied by a document called e.g.
'What's New in Astrobe for Cortex-M4'. This summarises the new features and
the bugs fixed since the last major release. For an example see:

http://www.astrobe.com/Cortex-M4/WhatsNew.htm

In my mind there is a clear distinction between commercial and
non-commercial software. (Note that I deliberately refrain from the use of
the ambiguous term 'free' - it means too many different things to different
people).

My comments were made in the context of software where the source code is
provided without any monetary requirements or other strings attached e.g.
Project Oberon. I am extremely grateful to such authors (e.g. Niklaus and
Paul) and would not *expect* them to do any additional work which I am
capable of doing myself. Anything above and beyond the source code itself
that the authors *choose* to provide (e.g. documentation, support etc.) I
consider to be an unexpected bonus - certainly not a requirement.

However, I have very different requirements for the commercial software
products that I willingly pay money for. I then have an expectation that I
will have to spend less of my time in order to get productive use out of the
product. I expect the vendor to comply with the terms and conditions that we
have agreed upon. The more I pay for a product, the better service and
support I expect. 

Everything that I do in relation to my commercial software is based on the
assumption that my customers have the same expectations as me, 

Regards,
Chris

Chris Burrows
CFB Software
http://www.astrobe.com