RE: [Axiom-developer] Aldor?

[Page, Bill]

Jay,

Were you still planning on posting this "petition" on the
Axiom Wiki website? I think it is fine except for a couple
of typos and a few suggested changes in wording that I
point out below.

Perhaps Tim Daly might like to comment on some of the
specific details in your proposed letter?

If you need help putting this on the Wiki, just ask.
I would be very happy to tell you how to do it.

Regards,
Bill Page.

On Friday, January 13, 2006 9:52 PM you wrote:
> 
> "Bill Page" <address@hidden> writes:
> 
> > On January 13, 2006 12:06 PM Jay Belanger wrote:
> >> ...
> >> So that any potential signers could get a quick grasp of the
> >> situation, a little history might be useful.  What about
> >> something like:
> >
> > Thanks for the draft. I think it is very good. I have inserted
> > a few explanations below. I will leave it up to you exactly
> > how to modify the text.
> 
> Thanks for the additional information.  I've fixed the inaccuracies,
> and below is another draft.  (Feel free to change it yourself if you
> want, of course.)
> 
> Jay
> 
>    Axiom is a sophisticated computer algebra system originally
>    developed as an IBM research project.  IBM sold Axiom to the
>    Numerical Algorithms Group (NAG) who marketed it and continued its
>    development.  After NAG discontinued Axiom as a commercial product
>    they generously released part of the Axiom source code under a free
>    license.  Axiom is now very usable and is currently being actively
>    developed by an enthusiastic community. It is expected to be useful
>    in research and education for quite some time.
> 
>    The language used for writing Axiom libraries is called SPAD (short
>    for Scratchpad, the original name of Axiom).  While Axiom was still
>    being developed by IBM, an improved language, Aldor, was created
>    for writing Axiom libraries.  While the Aldor compiler was

-    originally part of the Axiom system, it was became a separate
+    originally part of the Axiom system, it became a separate

>    project when NAG discontinued the sale of Axiom as a commercial
>    product.  The Aldor compiler was not part of Axiom when the Axiom
>    sources were relicensed, and so is not currently included 
>    with Axiom.
> 
>    Binaries for Aldor have been made freely available and the sources
>    are available under a generous license.  However, the license does
>    not qualify as a free or open source license.  While Axiom can

-    still be built using Aldor, the lack of a free license for Aldor
+    still make use of Aldor as a library compiler (on those platforms
+    where a suitable binary version is available), the lack of a free
+    license for Aldor

-    prohibits it from being a standard part of Axiom, and so nothing in
+    prohibits it from being a standard part of the Axiom open source
+    distribution, and so nothing in

-    the base Axiom system can assume that Aldor is included.
+    the base Axiom system can depend on Aldor.

> 
>    A free license for Aldor would allow it to become a standard part
>    of Axiom, which would improve Axiom and make Aldor a more
>    widespread language.  A free license available as soon as possible
>    would allow current development on Axiom to use Aldor.
> 
>    We, the undersigned, respectfully request that the Aldor compiler
>    be released under a free license at the earliest opportunity.
> 
>    Sincerely,
>