[wx-dev] Windows CE 3.0 source code released

[Vadim Zeitlin]

Maybe this could be of interest:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/embedded/ce/tools/source/default.asp

You can also get it directly bypassing all the registration crap here:

http://download.microsoft.com/download/WinCEPlatformBuilder/Update/3.0/NT5/EN-US/setup.exe

Regards,
VZ

[Vadim Zeitlin]

On Sun, 22 Jul 2001 10:31:53 -0400 Randy Kramer <rhkr...@fast.net> wrote:

RK> I will not download or look at this code, out of concern over the legal
RK> obligations or insinuations it may place on anyone who does.

It's amazing that people may think (not referring to you here but to /.
discussion) that this move is an attempt of MS to kill the open source
movement with lawsuits which they would launch against anybody who looked
on this code.

Anybody can think whatever [s]he likes about this but just remember that
looking at the proprietary code had never been a problem, only copying it
was. And surely copying (parts of) WinCE code would be a very dumb idea.
But looking at it can be very useful, in particular to diagnose the
problems your program may have. I can't even imagine how much time could
having the Windows sources have saved me in the past and it is really a
pity that they didn't release sources for NT instead of CE :-/

Regards,
VZ

[Guillermo Rodriguez Garcia]

At 17:28 22/07/01 +0200, you wrote:
> Anybody can think whatever [s]he likes about this but just remember that
>looking at the proprietary code had never been a problem, only copying it
>was. And surely copying (parts of) WinCE code would be a very dumb idea.
>But looking at it can be very useful, in particular to diagnose the
>problems your program may have. I can't even imagine how much time could
>having the Windows sources have saved me in the past and it is really a
>pity that they didn't release sources for NT instead of CE :-/

Indeed. And thanks for posting the link, it will be quite
useful, for me at least.

Regards,
G.

--
Guillermo Rodriguez Garcia
<gui...@iies.es>

[Derry Bryson]

True it could be quite useful, but once you have looked at it you are tainted
(in fact just downloading it and not even looking at it taints you). No going
back. Doesn't matter if you use their exact source code or not, you
could inadvertantly write very similar code. Even if you only downloaded it
and never looked at it and were working on Wine, for instance, all of your
code would be tainted.

Java VM implementers had this very problem not very long ago because Sun
released the source code and everybody went and downloaded it. The same
problem will happen with the .NET stuff like the C# compiler and VM if
people don't think about whether or not they might ever want to be involved
with cleanroom type implementations.

On the other hand, you may eventually prove in court that you didn't use any
of their code or ideas in your code after spending millions on legal fees, but
then again...

Derry

[Derry Bryson]

Guillermo Rodriguez Garcia wrote:

>
> At 11:19 22/07/01 -0700, you wrote:
> >On the other hand, you may eventually prove in court that you didn't use any
> >of their code or ideas in your code after spending millions on legal fees, but
> >then again...
>

> Just downloading it bypassing the registration procedure, all
> they'll have is at most an IP address.
>

Okay... :) but you get the point...

Derry