Re: [ossig] Do we need a local Linux Magazine?

[Nur Hussein <nhussein@xxxxxxxxx>]

> Because you did include Objective C (though the market/scope in M'sia
> might be low - how many Mac users do you know?)

Objective C isn't just for Mac users you know. GCC comes with a nice
Objective C compiler, plus GNUStep uses Objective C:
http://www.gnustep.org/

I'm surprised why Objective C hasn't caught on more... it's certainly
nicer than some of the more hyped languages out there.

> LISP, ooh ;-)

(((((LISP IS GOOD))))) <-- advocacy by parenthesis hypnosis :)

> My point is... there are *tons of* "Java OSS" out
> there. That's why most technical magazine articles are
> concentrate on introducing "Java OSS" instead of the
> "somehow proprietary JDK". That is essentially these
> "Java OSS" make Java, J2EE so popular today, keep
> getting ahead of M$ .NET, FOREVER !!

Ok, ok I get it :)

> I think open source encompasses more than just tools... Have seen some
> VB open source projects out there.

Well, I guess you can have VB open source projects I suppose, but the
problem with VB is that there is no way for most of the community to
participate in development nor even compile and run the source without
an expensive proprietary tool which is *only available* on a similarly
expensive and proprietary (and buggy and bloated and criminally
hideous) operating system. This negates some of the benefits of open
source.

It's also that the mention of VB got me a little shaky, for it was
then I recalled the words of E.W. Dijkstra in my mind, and thus he
spake:

"It is practically impossible to teach good programming to students
that have had a prior exposure to BASIC: as potential programmers they
are mentally mutilated beyond hope of regeneration."

Disclaimer : I *do* have exposure to BASIC, and I can testify that EWD
was right ;)

I suppose the quote is doubly true for Visual BASIC :)

-= Nur Hussein =-


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