[MUD-Dev] UML/Commercial v Free Muds

[Jon A. Lambert]

On 24 Mar 98 at 19:13, Greg Munt wrote:
> Has anyone used UML here? Advantages/disadvantages? I'm thinking of using 
> it to help with the design of my project, having been introduced to it 
> through Rational Rose.

I use Rational Rose and like it.  I've been using OMT rather than 
UML.  The issue for me is one of familiarity rather than technical.
The differences are otherwise minor. 

> Also. Someone (John Adelsberger, I think - what a nice man) commented 
> that the development effort that goes into free software (he was 
> referring to gcc, I think) is incomparable to that of commercial software..

Heh.  The statement is way to general to mean anything.  Besides how 
the hell would he know anyway?  I've been in commercial development 
for 14 years and I can't answer that.  I'm a newbie everyday. :)   

Here's a excellent link to a paper on FSF style development:
(courtesy of David Rudy)
   <http://earthspace.net/~esr/writings/cathedral-paper.html>

The author makes some very interesting and positive observations on
free software development - the Linux way.  

> My experience of the commerical software development industry is: "If 
> it works, who cares beyond that?"

I don't know if I could make any value statements by dividing 
software into two categories, "commercial" and "free".  There are 
hundreds of methods and situations in which software is developed.
It's kind of like dividing the animal kingdom into elephants and
non-elephants.  My man Socrates wouldn't approve of this division. ;)

> I was wondering, since there a lot of commercial/professional mud ppl on 
> this list, what you lot thought about it, when mapped into the mudding 
> world...?
> 
> What do you think of the assertion that, since in a commercial 
> environment, you have to get something out by a particular time, and 
> that, so long as the desired functionality is provided, the customer is 
> happy, then less attention is given to producing a quality product, than 
> might be given to something produced through a free community? There is 
> also the thousands of testers available for free products (on the 
> internet) to be considered, also.

What is a quality product?  Is Donkey Kong a quality product? 

> Using a current example - databases - how do things like DB2 and Oracle 
> compare to products listed in the FreeDB list? 

DB2 and Oracle are lightyears ahead of the freeDB list in the things
that matter to the customer.  There is probably a greater difference 
in this particular area than any I can think of. 
BTW, The customer here is NOT the programmer.  

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