Re: [edlug] EU Forcing Microsoft to Open Source?

[hancock@xxx.xxx.xxx (Peter G. Hancock)]

This is of course enormously important.  It is one thing to
deny people access to code; it is something much darker to
deny them access to interface specifications. 

In my experience as a _programmer_ (the political shenanigans are
pretty obvious), this can be because

* The interface is so shit and unclean that you are embarrassed to let
  anyone see it, (to the extent you can find it or pretend it
  is there).

* It is so unstable and its design is so weak that you are 
  reluctant to commit to it from one implementation to another.

* You don't actually know how to specify it as any kind of 
  reliable contract.

* You don't know how to subset it or "cripple" it. 

* er, some others I'll think of in a moment.

The point I'd like to make is that a _specification_ cannot possibly
be claimed as intellectual property ...  if it really exists.

Whether an implementation can is another question. 

Hank
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