From case;at;scripps.edu Thu Jul 1 02:16:48 1993 Date: Thu, 1 Jul 93 09:16:48 PDT From: case[ AT ]scripps.edu (David Case) Message-Id: <9307011616.AA16063 %-% at %-% lanczos.Scripps.EDU> To: chemistry -A_T- ccl.net Subject: Re: reproduciblity, codes, and disclosure mercie "-at-" cumc.cornell.edu wrote: > > Most individuals that wish to receive source code probably fall in three > categories: 1) code scavengers, 2) code "extenders". My candidates for the missing "third category": People who (1) want to know what the code "really" does, as opposed to what the documentation says it does; (2) would like to run programs on machines other than those supported by the developers; (3) want to make sure that they can continue to do research after buying a new machine or upgrading their operating system; (4) find the documentation confusing and need to see what input the code is really expecting to find, or how it is used; (5) wish to obtain more detailed output than the program would ordinarily provide; (6) encounter bugs and wish to correct them; (7) wish to publish results using the code in question. In short, there are lots of folks besides "scavengers" and "extenders" who have a legitimate interest in having access to source code. ...dave case