why not make it open source?

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kknd

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Apr 30, 2012, 4:24:12 PM4/30/12
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This is a software with great idea, but is develops very slowly. It might be better to make it open source.

Wouter van Oortmerssen

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Apr 30, 2012, 9:03:06 PM4/30/12
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I will eventually, but I was still thinking of ways to actually be able to make money with it. That may indeed never happen.

Also, I have run a fair few open source projects in the past (e.g. the cube engine), and that is a lot of work by itself, and as such actually reduces the amount of time I have for programming on it. Unless I just dump it on github and abandon it, which wouldn't help anyone either.

Wouter

On Mon, Apr 30, 2012 at 3:24 PM, kknd <liaoj...@gmail.com> wrote:
This is a software with great idea, but is develops very slowly. It might be better to make it open source.

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Simon Morgan

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Jun 29, 2012, 12:53:04 PM6/29/12
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Even if you don't make it open source, it might be a good idea to release a file format specification. I think people are more likely to invest the time and effort putting their data into a format the more they can be sure they'll be able to get it back out again in the future.

Wouter van Oortmerssen

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Jun 29, 2012, 1:08:16 PM6/29/12
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Simon,

Say you had tons of information stored in TreeSheets, and decided to abandon the app. Which would you prefer:

- export all your data into XML, HTML, text, cvs and whatever else, and convert that into what you want to use instead.
- write your own .cts reader code, to convert to your desired new format directly.

I bet 99.9% of people choose the former.

That said, I am totally fine with releasing the file format specs. In fact, let me offer here right now: if anyone is seriously going to be working on a tool that reads .cts files, get in contact with me, and I'll work on a spec with you (and make it public after).

Wouter



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Simon Morgan

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Jun 30, 2012, 12:13:34 PM6/30/12
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I see your point but I suppose I had the assumption in mind that you chose the format you use for a good reason (either because it was necessary or at least optimal).

Wouter van Oortmerssen

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Jun 30, 2012, 9:56:06 PM6/30/12
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It's purely for efficiency. I could have made XML the main format, but that would have made the files gigantic and slower to load/save.

Wouter

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