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From: Alan G I. <ai...@am...> - 2005-10-04 09:59:45
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On Mon, 03 Oct 2005, Travis Oliphant apparently wrote: > I hope people can understand that the reality of scarcity > dictates that we coordinate efforts through some > mechanism. The price mechanism has been the most > succesful large-scale mechanism yet developed. > I am interested in feedback. If you don't buy the book > because you think I'm asking too much money, then let me > know, as Tim has done. I found this an interesting approach to supporting the project. I plan to buy the book when it is released. Hmm, why wait? I should put my money where my mouth is. Just a moment ... ok, done. I view the book as a *complement* to other documentation that will appear and as a way to support the project. I agree with Tim that freely accessible online documentation will and must become available as well. As Chris notes, some of this can happen on the Wiki. I also plan to ask our library to purchase the book, but I am concerned that your statement that multiple users each need their own copy might mean a library purchase is forbidden. I assume it did not mean that, and that you just meant that making multiple copies is restricted. (Our library supports electronic book check out.) Ruling out library purchases would, I think, be a costly mistake for many reasons, which I can list if you are interested. Finally, I agree with Tim that seven years is too long and at the price I'd hope for a paperback copy. I think a better strategy would be two years copy protection, with an updated edition every two years. (But then I am not writing the code!) The basic concept is really nice, as long as it does not make it harder for you to - fully document your code, - smile on the free documentation that emerges, and - keep your sunny disposition. Cheers, Alan Isaac |