A "clean room" implementation involves two teams of people. The first team goes meticulously over the original code, specs, etc. and documents it all, but does not include any actual code in the documentation. This document is then passed on to the second team, none of whom have ever seen the original code (and must create legally valid documentation to that effect). This team then rewrites the code on the basis of the first team's documentation.
This way, except for those rare cases where there's only one way to code something, you have code that was written by people who could not possibly influenced by the original code, hence it's "clean."
This is nothing new. Phoenix (the BIOS company) got started by making a clean room BIOS based on the IBM XT BIOS. Frankly, I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often.
If I read it correctly, in this case the judge is saying that Microsoft can create a clean room version of Java without Sun's code, support, blessing, or compatibility tests. They will not, however, be able to use the Java trademark or claim their product is associated in any way with Sun. IANAL so this may be wrong or incomplete (they might, for example, be able to claim that it passes Java compatibility tests, assuming it does).
And yes, there could be a GNU clean room Java if anyone was sufficiently motivated to create one. I seem to remember seeing a Java front end for egcs but since I'm not a Java programmer I didn't follow up on it.
The other side of this particular coin is a book called "Square Meals," by Jane & Michael Stern, which pays homage to such suburban delights as Kraft macaroni & cheese, Velveeta and do-it-yourself luaus. I mean, who can pass up a chance to make Flaming Cabbage Head Weenies in Puu-Puu Sauce!?
Actually one of our family's favorite recipes came from this book -- Cherry Coke Jell-O salad. Cherry Jell-O made with Coca-Cola and festooned with cherries and walnuts. Yum.
Not that we wouldn't all like to see numbers like that, but come on. That's 13% of everybody on the planet, give or take. I don't think even Windows has managed to get that far.
Unless, of course, ESR is counting in this total:
Anyone who is running Linux on their desktop Anyone who is connecting to a network with a Linux server Anyone who is on the Internet (sooner or later they'll hit a Linux server) Anyone who knows somebody connected to the Internet
20 million, I might believe. 30 million would be fantastic. But ~3 times the population of the United States? Sorry, but I think not.
Make no mistake, having a better job or more money or whatever is very nice. If nothing else, it's the way they keep score, so in their eyes they don't measure up to you. But the reason I think with such fondness about the people I went to school with who have dead-end lives isn't because I have more money than they do. It's because I'm doing something I truly enjoy and getting paid for it. It's because I'll be retired and playing with my grandchildren while they're out there working harder than I ever did at something they hate. It's because I turned into a decent human being in spite of them.
It's because I survived. They dished it out and it didn't break me.
I have two sons who got their GED certificates after suffering through various school systems. If I'd have thought about it earlier, I would have encouraged their sister (who made it all the way through graduation in a school where she wasn't happy) to do the same, and have all three of them do it sooner.
If you're of high school age, sit back and discuss this honestly with yourself and maybe with others you trust. Are you really getting anything out of school? Does it facilitate your education or interfere with it? Don't factor friends into the discussion -- you can stay friends with people even if you decide to leave school.
If the plusses for school outweigh the negatives, by all means stay. Maybe you have an awesome math teacher, or you're heavy into things like drama that you can't get outside school (assuming schools still have drama -- that was my escape in high school). But if it's intolerable, you're miserable, you're going to school out of a sense of duty or because your parents are forcing you to go -- quit. Get your GED. Don't walk, run. Don't wait. Then you can start taking classes at the local community college, or learn to hack, or flip burgers or rebuild engines or hitchhike through South America if that's what you want to do.
As one poster said earlier, high school is not the real world. Come on out. And I guaran-dam-tee you, after about 10 years you'll be in much better shape than the kids in the "popular" crowd. Occasionally I look back on my high school days, 25 or so years ago, and think about all those people who tormented me -- and I just sort of smile and give them a little wave.*
There are several reasons why Spam is a Bad Thing. Here are some of the main ones:
1. You end up paying for it whether you want it or not. If your ISP makes you pay for every message you get or every gigabyte of traffic, you have to pay for something you didn't ask for, don't want and will never use. Anybody on here who gripes about getting Windows with a nascent Linux-only computer should recognize the feeling. Even if you have a flat rate account your ISP has to spend time, effort and perhaps money to keep up with the flow of spam, and that translates directly into higher fees for you. (The junk mail analogy doesn't really apply here. The sender pays for junk mail; the receiver pays for spam.)
2. The few spams that are potentially of interest are drowned out by fraudulent get-rich-quick schemes, porno ads, ads for spam generators and the like. Yeah, right, like I'm going to buy something based on the say-so of someone with a fake e-mail address who posted his spam from a dial-up account.
3. Spam clogs the Net just by its sheer volume. Just think, if you could get rid of spam all that space would be available for information of interest (and it would be a substantial amount!).
Personally, I think spam should be lumped in with the "junk fax" law, and for the same reasons. It may happen, at least here in Washington; one anti-spam activist here in Washington took to forwarding the spam he got to everyone in the state legislature. He then went on to say (paraphrasing), "The next day I had several requests to turn off the flow of spam because it was clogging their mailboxes. That same day [a bill tightening spam regulations] passed out of conference..."
Anyone who thinks ESR has logic and reason on his side doesn't read his writing. I've come to believe that the quality of his writing is in inverse proportion to how much whatever it is he's writing involves Microsoft. "The Cathedral and the Bazaar" is well thought out and informative. "How To Be A Hacker" explained a few things I suspected about myself. The last three "Halloween" documents were sad attempts to make Microsoft look foolish (let them do that themselves). He hates Microsoft, pure and simple, and that hatred colors everything it touches.
At least that's what I tell people, but frankly, that's where I learned to write programs. I got a D+ in the only formal programming course I took (Fortran), but I also learned (a) Basic, (b) PL/I (fat lot of good that does me now , (c) How to Write Programs (the Tao of programming, if you will), and (d) that I was good at (c). (I got the D+ for other reasons more related to laziness and a certain girl than because I couldn't wrap my head around Fortran.) So I guess it wasn't a complete waste.
On the other hand, this was 4-5 years before the first widescale microcomputers caught on, so I also tell people my particular career field hadn't even been invented yet when I went to college the first time.
College can be a worthwhile experience, but it isn't for everyone. There are times when it isn't even for the people who would benefit by it. I got a lot more out of college the second time around than when I was spending my parents' money.
Slashdot Mirror
Here's how it works:
A "clean room" implementation involves two teams of people. The first team goes meticulously over the original code, specs, etc. and documents it all, but does not include any actual code in the documentation. This document is then passed on to the second team, none of whom have ever seen the original code (and must create legally valid documentation to that effect). This team then rewrites the code on the basis of the first team's documentation.
This way, except for those rare cases where there's only one way to code something, you have code that was written by people who could not possibly influenced by the original code, hence it's "clean."
This is nothing new. Phoenix (the BIOS company) got started by making a clean room BIOS based on the IBM XT BIOS. Frankly, I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often.
If I read it correctly, in this case the judge is saying that Microsoft can create a clean room version of Java without Sun's code, support, blessing, or compatibility tests. They will not, however, be able to use the Java trademark or claim their product is associated in any way with Sun. IANAL so this may be wrong or incomplete (they might, for example, be able to claim that it passes Java compatibility tests, assuming it does).
And yes, there could be a GNU clean room Java if anyone was sufficiently motivated to create one. I seem to remember seeing a Java front end for egcs but since I'm not a Java programmer I didn't follow up on it.
Caw caw
The other side of this particular coin is a book called "Square Meals," by Jane & Michael Stern, which pays homage to such suburban delights as Kraft macaroni & cheese, Velveeta and do-it-yourself luaus. I mean, who can pass up a chance to make Flaming Cabbage Head Weenies in Puu-Puu Sauce!?
Actually one of our family's favorite recipes came from this book -- Cherry Coke Jell-O salad. Cherry Jell-O made with Coca-Cola and festooned with cherries and walnuts. Yum.
caw caw
Not that we wouldn't all like to see numbers like that, but come on. That's 13% of everybody on the planet, give or take. I don't think even Windows has managed to get that far.
Unless, of course, ESR is counting in this total:
Anyone who is running Linux on their desktop
Anyone who is connecting to a network with a Linux server
Anyone who is on the Internet (sooner or later they'll hit a Linux server)
Anyone who knows somebody connected to the Internet
20 million, I might believe. 30 million would be fantastic. But ~3 times the population of the United States? Sorry, but I think not.
caw caw
Make no mistake, having a better job or more money or whatever is very nice. If nothing else, it's the way they keep score, so in their eyes they don't measure up to you. But the reason I think with such fondness about the people I went to school with who have dead-end lives isn't because I have more money than they do. It's because I'm doing something I truly enjoy and getting paid for it. It's because I'll be retired and playing with my grandchildren while they're out there working harder than I ever did at something they hate. It's because I turned into a decent human being in spite of them.
It's because I survived. They dished it out and it didn't break me.
Caw caw
I have two sons who got their GED certificates after suffering through various school systems. If I'd have thought about it earlier, I would have encouraged their sister (who made it all the way through graduation in a school where she wasn't happy) to do the same, and have all three of them do it sooner.
:)
If you're of high school age, sit back and discuss this honestly with yourself and maybe with others you trust. Are you really getting anything out of school? Does it facilitate your education or interfere with it? Don't factor friends into the discussion -- you can stay friends with people even if you decide to leave school.
If the plusses for school outweigh the negatives, by all means stay. Maybe you have an awesome math teacher, or you're heavy into things like drama that you can't get outside school (assuming schools still have drama -- that was my escape in high school). But if it's intolerable, you're miserable, you're going to school out of a sense of duty or because your parents are forcing you to go -- quit. Get your GED. Don't walk, run. Don't wait. Then you can start taking classes at the local community college, or learn to hack, or flip burgers or rebuild engines or hitchhike through South America if that's what you want to do.
As one poster said earlier, high school is not the real world. Come on out. And I guaran-dam-tee you, after about 10 years you'll be in much better shape than the kids in the "popular" crowd. Occasionally I look back on my high school days, 25 or so years ago, and think about all those people who tormented me -- and I just sort of smile and give them a little wave.*
Caw caw
* Babylon 5 fans will recognize the reference
There are several reasons why Spam is a Bad Thing. Here are some of the main ones:
1. You end up paying for it whether you want it or not. If your ISP makes you pay for every message you get or every gigabyte of traffic, you have to pay for something you didn't ask for, don't want and will never use. Anybody on here who gripes about getting Windows with a nascent Linux-only computer should recognize the feeling. Even if you have a flat rate account your ISP has to spend time, effort and perhaps money to keep up with the flow of spam, and that translates directly into higher fees for you. (The junk mail analogy doesn't really apply here. The sender pays for junk mail; the receiver pays for spam.)
2. The few spams that are potentially of interest are drowned out by fraudulent get-rich-quick schemes, porno ads, ads for spam generators and the like. Yeah, right, like I'm going to buy something based on the say-so of someone with a fake e-mail address who posted his spam from a dial-up account.
3. Spam clogs the Net just by its sheer volume. Just think, if you could get rid of spam all that space would be available for information of interest (and it would be a substantial amount!).
Personally, I think spam should be lumped in with the "junk fax" law, and for the same reasons. It may happen, at least here in Washington; one anti-spam activist here in Washington took to forwarding the spam he got to everyone in the state legislature. He then went on to say (paraphrasing), "The next day I had several requests to turn off the flow of spam because it was clogging their mailboxes. That same day [a bill tightening spam regulations] passed out of conference..."
Caw Caw
Anyone who thinks ESR has logic and reason on his side doesn't read his writing. I've come to believe that the quality of his writing is in inverse proportion to how much whatever it is he's writing involves Microsoft. "The Cathedral and the Bazaar" is well thought out and informative. "How To Be A Hacker" explained a few things I suspected about myself. The last three "Halloween" documents were sad attempts to make Microsoft look foolish (let them do that themselves). He hates Microsoft, pure and simple, and that hatred colors everything it touches.
Anyway back to your regularly scheduled feud.
At least that's what I tell people, but frankly, that's where I learned to write programs. I got a D+ in the only formal programming course I took (Fortran), but I also learned (a) Basic, (b) PL/I (fat lot of good that does me now , (c) How to Write Programs (the Tao of programming, if you will), and (d) that I was good at (c). (I got the D+ for other reasons more related to laziness and a certain girl than because I couldn't wrap my head around Fortran.) So I guess it wasn't a complete waste.
On the other hand, this was 4-5 years before the first widescale microcomputers caught on, so I also tell people my particular career field hadn't even been invented yet when I went to college the first time.
College can be a worthwhile experience, but it isn't for everyone. There are times when it isn't even for the people who would benefit by it. I got a lot more out of college the second time around than when I was spending my parents' money.
-- An Ominous Cowbird