What the open source application library people does is give options. A
person may hear there is a way to "freshen up" their RPG programs easily
with a web interface. For little investment (only their time) they
can experiment and maybe eventually push live a web version of their
application. These people would never buy a commercial application because
management may not see any value in such a purchase. RPGUI and powerEXT (and
others) allow that developer to play in his down time with something new.
Now, that may lead them to buying a commercial product (with paid support)
in the future or to just "stay the course" on the framework they choose.
Now a smart businessperson would look at something like this and figure out
how to profit off an open framework. Maybe provide support for it. Do
consulting based on your expertise in the framework. Maybe take it to the
next level any make it easier to use, or just build a better product with a
migration path from the open framework. There are ways to make money on
free.
While licensing types is a valid subject, I don't feel that
is appropriate here (and frankly, I am getting tired of it). That should be
taken to the project forums of concern and be relevant to the projects
goals. The original question was about why the three projects don't work
together. Let's keep it to that, please.
This is my only 2 cents on the subject.
--
Mike Wills
http://mikewills.info
midrange.com
