[kwlug-disc] given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow?

[Khalid Baheyeldin]

> Rob Day exemplified this because he had a peeve and knew how to deal with
> it. He saw a problem with the kernel source code. The config variables
> used in determining what features are compiled into the kernel had lots of
> errors. This was a problem that bothered Rob, but didn't bother other
> kernel programmers enough to do something about it. Rob did something
> about it. He created a relatively simple program that scanned for typos,
> uploaded the list to a web site and notified module maintainers of the
> problem.
>
> Will all the kernel programmers out there, Rob was the first to come up
> with that idea. Imagine tens of thousands of programmers contributing to
> the kernel over the years and only one that created a solution to this
> problem. How many people have worked on the Windows kernel? probably
> hundreds, maybe a thousand. How many good ideas are not implemented?
>


It is called "scratch your own itch", and it is one of the main
differentiators
for open source. You are allowed to inspect the source, and modify it for
your own reasons, and contribute it back to anyone who cares.

If the source is closed, you are SOL already. If you are constrained by
project deadlines and budget, then you are SOL. In open source, we
don't have these constraints, so anyone can improve the software.
-- 
Khalid M. Baheyeldin
2bits.com, Inc.
http://2bits.com
Drupal optimization, development, customization and consulting.
Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. --  Edsger W.Dijkstra
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. --   Leonardo da Vinci
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