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SubjectRe: Ken Thompson interview in IEEE Computer magazine (fwd)
Wojtek Pilorz wrote:

8<---- Snip ---->8

> While I have not read the interview in IEEE Computer yet, please let me
> quote a fragment of earlier post:
> "Thompson: I view Linux as something that's not Microsoft -- a backlash
> against Microsoft, no more and no less. I don't think it will be very
> successful in the long run. I've looked at the source, and there are
> pieces that are good and pieces that are not. A whole bunch of random
> people have contributed to this source, and the quality varies
> drastically."

Back in the late 80's I worked directly with the developers of AT&T's
LAN products. One of the things that they noted was that the quality of
the code leaving Microsoft was terrible. They would hire an individual,
they would write the code and midway through the project they would
leave. The code would then be picked up and continued by another
programmer. You could see it in the code. It led to alot of really
ugly code. Many companies (ie AT&T, etc.) helped Microsoft rewrite
sections of their code because our customers needed the products
working correctly. This doesn't take much away from Thompson's
remarks but adds that Microsoft has had these problems for years. And
I would bet that much of that code exists, even today, in the NT OS.

Linux has the advantage that when dirty code is found we can at least
clean it up. It requires a very large complaint about bugs before
MS can go in and clean things up.

--
Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry ncherry@home.net
http://members.home.net/ncherry (Text only)
http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/lightsey/52 (Graphics GB)

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