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Microsoft Open Sources F#
aabelro writes "Don Syme has announced the release of the F# compiler source code as a code drop under Apache 2.0. He wrote, 'The F# PowerPack now includes libraries, tools and the compiler/library source code drops. I'd like to take a moment to explain the F# team's approach to this. Firstly, the source for the F# compiler in our MSI/CTP releases has been available for some time, in the releases themselves, so in that sense there's not much new in this release. Secondly, we've always made sure we have a free download binary release of F# available, and will continue to do that, and that should still be the main way you "get" a release of F#. However, we've long discussed making compiler+library source available in a different way. After some discussion, we've decided to do this via a "code drop" model, where we make available versions of the compiler+library code logically matching each release of the F# language itself.'"
Where's the catch? What will you inadvertently start using that will later need licensing?
Maybe port it to JVM or LLVM?
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Unbelievable! They start moving in a direction that they've been criticized for NOT moving in/adopting and what's the response from the /. snots? I guess it takes some honor/courage/maturity to give credit when it's due.
Proverbs 21:19 It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.
Because many of us - like it or not - develop on Windows platforms. F# works better with .NET than Ocaml does.
So all those Windows projects on Sourceforge aren't part of a lively community? All of the open source web projects that make sure they work on Windows browsers aren't lively?
Until Microsoft permanently ceases asserting software patent rights, sharing their source code is of very limited value.
And therefore, it's interesting that the chose to use a license that explicitly offers a Grant of Patent License.
There are actually several .NET tools that are open source like NHibernate and NUnit.
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Ocaml, F#'s cousin, is used by a large private investment house -- Jane Street. F# itself is used in MS's static code analysis tools, like the driver verifier, and surely in a lot of in-house tools.
A successful API design takes a mixture of software design and pedagogy.
From my understanding there is a lot of interest in F# in financial areas.
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Which are just clones of the original java tools, like C# is a clone of Java
And GNU/Linux is a clone of UNIX, and Quadrapassel from GNOME Games is a clone of Tetris...
There is no catch. Microsoft is doing this because F# has no commercial value.
Yup, that's precisely why F# - previously a research project in Microsoft Research - was taken up for inclusion in Visual Studio 2010, IDE support added, new documentation written and put into MSDN Library etc. Because it has absolutely no commercial value.
F# will be free, but you will have to pay for the full Microsoft F#$@ experience.