Opensource VAST policy

[samir....@gmail.com]

Hi,

I'm considering using VAST for developing a new opensource project for a non-profit org.

I'm hesitating between Pharo vs VAST.

Pharo has a lot of awesome opensource contributions but it's a constantly moving target (api breaks easily). VAST is pretty poor in term of libraries in comparison, but it's rock solid and rarely breaks API.

I've noticed the new opensource turn of VAST (VAST Community Hub, github repo...).

But I've also noticed that the opensource VAST license has disappeared.

It makes me quite uncomfortable to choose VAST as my main opensource dev platform, because of the unclear VAST opensource policy.

What happened to the opensource vast license ? Did the Instantiations position changed recently ? Thanks for the clarification.

Regards,

Samir

[Seth Berman]

Greetings Samir,

Thank you for your questions.

In short, yes, we've changed our position relating to open source licenses of VAST, and we are no longer offering them. Supporting the open source community is not an "all or nothing" proposition though. As mentioned, we still collaborate with the community and contribute to open source software through our GitHub and the VAST Community Hub.

As you know, Instantiations is a commercial software organization. Because of this, we use a license and support model that gives us the resources and stability needed to serve both our small business and enterprise customers for the long term.  It's who we are, and it's the role we want to be in. I understand the desire for VAST to have an open source license. I like open source software too, but VAST is too valuable to simply give away.

Regarding your development platform choice, one of the major differentiators of VAST is engineer-backed support. Our customers get unfiltered access to the engineering team responsible for the creation of VAST. This provides unparalleled service and peace of mind, but understandably, it carries a cost which directly influences our pricing.

I do hear you about the amount of Pharo's libraries though. Extensibility is important, and this is where VAST's Tonel Tools are a great equalizer. In many cases, our Tonel Tools can significantly streamline the importing of Pharo libraries into VAST and allow for the expanded library access you're looking for. Read our recent blog post about porting the latest Seaside version to VAST.

At the end of the day, VAST is a commercial product that has some great advantages, but it does have a cost associated with it. However, I continue to see even small shops and solo developers agree that the value provided by VAST is worth the price they pay for it.

- Seth

[Marten Feldtmann]

Seth,

a pretty sad answer for the Smalltalk community.

But it also makes it easier to make a clear cut, so VAST Community I say goodbye to VA, I am leaving this forum. Thanks for the years - it was a pleasure to work with this tool over the last 24 years, especially to see its being improved over the recent years - but I do not want to go the Delphi - way, so I jump off the train.

[Seth Berman]

Hi Marten,

I understand what you're saying, but truthfully this change has very little impact on the Smalltalk community. Very few developers have been interested in our open source license because it has always had a non-commercial stipulation. With limited interest, it doesn't make sense for us to use resources to maintain an open source version. Currently, there's only 1 open source license that's still active, but we'll happily continue to honor it. 

The majority of new users want to use VAST commercially and have ended up purchasing a license as a result. To make VAST more financially accessible, we periodically offer special pricing to make getting started easier.

It's also important to note that we still have a no-cost academic license that we offer to educational institutions, teachers, and students. This program has been far more active than our open source license.

Even with those options, we're continuing to work on a new program that makes VAST even more accessible while also allowing for commercial usage.

If someone doesn't qualify for an academic license or purchasing a license (at any cost) isn't an option, then there are some great open source Smalltalk environments out there: Pharo, Squeak, and many others.

I'd encourage anyone who wants to use VAST to contact us directly if the price is their only objection. We may be able to find a solution.

- Seth

[Seth Berman]

Please note: there was originally another message in this thread, and Instantiations did not delete it.

- Seth