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Public Domain Python

Harry George hgg9140 at seanet.com
Wed Sep 13 21:00:39 EDT 2000 
Could the www.python.org site put up a web page (or section) which
shows:

a) Exactly which parts of "python" are copyrighted by CNRI.  Surely
there are *some* modules and chunks of code that came from alternative
sources.

b) The architecture, indicating where chunks could be rewritten and
hooked with the still-copyrighted sections (al a modula-3 and gcc).

c) A check-off list for tasks to be done to gradually wean the code
base from the license.

d) Very clear specifications of the functionality, supportive of clean
room reimplementation.

I'd guess CNRI would get the message after maybe 2/3 of the work was
done, and do a GPL.  But it would be a better implementation anyway
for having been rethought.

At any rate, the implementors should stop adding to the CNRI hoard.
If the cycle can't be broken, I need to know so I can stop moving
coworkers to python (20 so far, and more coming).

Grant Griffin <g2 at seebelow.org> writes:

> Alex wrote:
> > 
> > >>>>> "G" == Grant Griffin <g2 at seebelow.org> writes:
> > 
> >     G> From a practical point of view, I doubt anyone would want to
> >     G> fully re-implement Python purely for this reason, given that it
> >     G> is already free/open, and the worst thing that can be said about
> >     G> its license is that too many lawyers spoiled its legal broth.
> > 
> > Well, it's been reimplemented twice before, and I had the impression
> > that at least one of those implementations was written almost
> > single-handedly.
> > 
> > Not that I'm volunteering, but it's not so far-fetched that this could
> > happen.
> >
> > Write-one-to-feed-to-the-lawyers'ly yrs
> 
> <hehe> -- Good point.  (I've just been reading "The Mythical Man-Month",
> so that one really hits home.)
> 
> But are you _sure_ that anyone has writtten Python almost
> single-handedly?...
> 
> It depends on what you mean by "Python".  Perhaps you're thinking of the
> "core", but by "Python", I mean the entire thing: all C source, all
> Python libraries, all documents, all miscellany.  After all, if the goal
> of a public-domain reimplementation is to defeat the existing license,
> the existing license applies to virtually all of that stuff.
> 
> and-not-even-guido-and-tim-peters-could-create-all-that-single
>    -handed-ly y'rs,
> 
> =g2
> 
> > Speak softly but carry a big carrot.
> 
> Speak softly but carry a big megaphone.
> -- 
> _____________________________________________________________________
> 
> Grant R. Griffin                                       g2 at dspguru.com
> Publisher of dspGuru                           http://www.dspguru.com
> Iowegian International Corporation	      http://www.iowegian.com

-- 
Harry George
hgg9140 at seanet.com
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