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New Site Makes OSS Development Easier

Posted by timothy on from the snippets-of-gpl-joy dept.

An anonymous reader submits "OpenSnippets is a fledgling online community for OSS developers. New members are welcome to submit articles and code of interest, and everyone can view/download the code! It's blog-styled with topics for most popular languages. How useful- I only wish it'd make my coffee..."

7 of 42 comments (clear)

  1. Not "Open", but GPLed by aziegler · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The default licence assumed is apparently GPL, which isn't open -- it's GPL. I can't use GPLed snippets in my code that I wish to make BSD or MIT or MPL licensed.

    Great idea, lousy default licence choice.

    -a

    --
    Ni bhionn an rath achx mar a mbionn an smacht (There is no Luck without Discipline)
    1. Re:Not "Open", but GPLed by aziegler · · Score: 3, Insightful

      That's the GPL essentially.

      I don't mind if they called it "GPLedsnippets.com"; I mind that they call it "opensnippets.com". As I've said many times, the GPL works most effectively against open source (e.g., non-GPL/FSF licences) projects, not closed source projects.

      I did a little bit of searching on their site and they really haven't done their homework. They say that they accept PD, GPL, or LGPL only -- but those aren't the only licences compatible with the GPL. They could have easily gone through and found the "approved/compatible" licences from the FSF and listed those. Not only that, they don't actually give a place to *specify* the snippet's licence, leaving the assumption of the tagline on the website itself: "GPLed snippets, served daily."

      Sorry, but it's not open if it's GPLed. If I can't use it in a less restrictive context, it's not open. It might be what the person wanted -- and I fully support that -- but don't tell me that it's "OpenSnippets.com" when it's really "GPLedSnippets.com".

      -austin

      --
      Ni bhionn an rath achx mar a mbionn an smacht (There is no Luck without Discipline)
    2. Re:Not "Open", but GPLed by GigsVT · · Score: 5, Interesting

      After reading this story, I posted a GPLed snippet of my code on the site.

      If someone emailed me and said they would like to put it in their BSD licensed application, I would grant them a specific permission.

      I have a feeling most people that license their stuff under GPL would have similar feelings about small snippets of their GPL code. It can't hurt to ask, not everything has to be a huge political battle, we are all programmers here.

      --
      I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
  2. woah by SHEENmaster · · Score: 4, Informative

    A friend just told me I was /.ed. Sorry that the site is on such a slow line, I'll be moving it to a faster one tomorrow.

    As for the name, it's open if you can read it. If you are trying to get code for commercial software, check out planet source code. I might change the default license in the near future, but it isn't very likely. Submissions can specify their license of choice in their comments.

    Email me with any suggestions, complaints, burning garbage, or offers of endorsement.

    --
    You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair.
  3. Makes development slower! by joto · · Score: 3, Insightful
    While the "snippets" idea is a good one, it has never really succeded before, even though people have tried.

    I suspect the reason for this, is that it simply is a too large scope to have "everything useful". Categorizing all this stuff, throwing away the 99% of junk code, it's just too much work for anyone to do. And making it into a blog isn't going to make it work better.

    Sure, let the people who want to, have some fun with it. Follow the discussions, read the code posted, learn from it... But don't ever expect to ever find something you actually need there!

  4. gpl stuff by morgajel · · Score: 4, Insightful

    As one of the coders who has provided snippets for them, I gotta say that I the gpl licence works just fine. the purpose is to TEACH you how to do it, not just copy paste and be done with it. The gpl has a handy little clause that says you can rewrite the code and call it your own.

    If you like my code, the only thing I ask is that you figure out what what it does before using it. If you understand it, you don't have to copy/paste it and can just write your own.

    I think that gpl is perfect for this site because the snippets are small, and easy to rewrite. It's perfect for me because in order to rewrite it, you have to understand it, which is why I posted the snippets in the first place- to help people learn.

    Good job sheenmaster, but you really gotta get a different handle:)

    if you want to check out other projects I've worked on, check out morgajel.com

    --
    Looking for Book Reviews? Check out Literary Escapism.
  5. Some critique by DukeyToo · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Took a look at the site. And I thought /. was anti-MS!

    I won't be returning to the site...I don't want social commentary, I want useful source code and coding techniques, algorythms.

    Try www.codeproject.com for a decent site.

    --
    Most writers regard truth as their most valuable possession, and therefore are most economical in its use - Mark Twain