open source IBM i. was Re: From RGP to ¿Java?

On Fri, May 8, 2009 at 11:26 AM, James Perkins <jrperkinsjr@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I should do this but...

The IBM i will never be and should never be opened source. Can you really
name an enterprise OS that is open source? Unix, Windows, Solaris (not
OpenSolaris), none of these is open source. Even most enterprise
implementations of Linux are closed.

presumably you think that an enterprise OS needs to be closed source
because it needs to be actively supported and improved. Which only a
profit driven organization can do. If so, that is not what is being
done with IBM i. ( I include ILE and RPG in the "IBM i" grouping. )

The open source policy could be that for profit, top down organized
companies are free to repackage and add onto the open source base as
they choose.

Fact is you are always ranting on how great .NET is. Microsoft is even more
"closed source" than IBM. So, do you want Windows to go open source too?

As long as the company supports and improves the product, there is no grievance.

EGL is a good example of why any IBM product should be approached with
caution. Why couldn't whatever superior language features there are
in EGL be added to RPG and ILE? Some of the great features of ASP.NET
MVC are built on additions to the .NET framework and languages.