Microsoft Plans to open sources for Windows Forms
prostoalex writes "Shawn Burke from Microsoft says they are ready to ship sources for Windows Forms for .NET Framework 2.0 and asks for specific advice on accomplishing that (specifically, a smart comment tool). Windows Forms contains .NET framework classes for building GUI applications."
Does this make a difference to projects like Mono? And what's the catch? Can I use the source for anything useful without being tackled by lawyers? If I look at their source am I tainted forever?
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
As a user and developer of both custom 'Doze software (by day, for $) and OSS (at night, not yet for $) . . .
Microsoft is not likely to release these under a genuinely Free or Open Source license . . . but . . . they will be helpful to me as a 'Doze developer by helping me find and work around and/or fix implementation bugs in Windows.Forms.
I've thus far not had a use for Mono or Dot.GNU, but I suspect that the release will help them for the same reason it will help me: they won't be able to use the source directly but it will help them to find and either fix or (if necessary) re-implement Microsoft bugs upon which software may rely.
Nonaggression works!