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Microsoft rebuilds open source Sandcastle From the 'just trying to do the right thing' files:
Microsoft is apparently serious about its efforts to adhere to the letter of the Open Source Definition and is now set to relaunch its Sandcastle effort as a result. Nearly a month ago Microsoft pulled the Sandcastle project from its CodePlex site because it was listed as being open source (under the OSI approved Ms-PL) when in fact it wasn't because it didn't adhere to the licensing terms of open source. Sandcastle which is a documentation compiler for managed class libraries did not have source code open and available for download. Sam Ramji who runs Microsoft's Open Source Lab has now confirmed on his blog that Sandcastle is now set to re-appear on CodePlex as a fully compliant open source project. This was a non-trivial effort and I applaud them for it. I think these actions demonstrate Microsoft's desire to abide by the OSI's Open Source Definition with regard to source code when releasing open source projects on CodePlex.This is a positive turn of events in my view. Certainly there are many within Microsoft who couldn't care less about open source, fortunately Sam Ramji isn't one of them. 0 TrackBacksListed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Microsoft rebuilds open source Sandcastle. TrackBack URL for this entry: https://swarm.jupitermedia.com/mt-tb.cgi/3900 1 CommentsLeave a comment |
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Microsoft has a long history of adhering to the letter of the law or contract while violating the overall concept of what the law or contract is attempting to achieve. Bill Gates thinks that this is clever. He also thinks it is clever to lie by making a statement which is the literal truth and a conceptual lie. This attitude makes for good party jokes but it is horrible for building trust.
So it doesn't matter how iron clad the fine print seems to be, people do not trust a Microsoft agreement or license. People will ignore the Sandcastle project just as they ignore Mono, Silverlight, the Microsoft-Novell agreement, OOXML, etc, etc, etc no matter how literally Microsoft adheres to the letter of the Open Source Definition.
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Steve Stites