[Axiom-developer] Re: patch for coercePreImagaesImages in perm.spad.pamphlet

[root]

> Here you go, a new patch including a test case. Thanks for the reminder.

Thanks. I'll repatch it.



> We really should switch to using ALLPROSE, it's MUCH better than the current
> pamphlet stuff. Maybe someone could even backport Christian Aistleitners unit
> test packages... it uses libaldor :-(

augh. perhaps if/when we switch to an open source aldor. 
i'd rather not take another 6 months away from my current work
just to recode the system into a different literate form without
adding additional content. i'd rather the process be incremental
as we recode in aldor and write documentation for the domains.

i am, however, willing to try to use ALLPROSE if someone is willing
to do the patches to the makefiles to integrate the ALLPROSE machinery
as well as rewriting one of the files into ALLPROSE. That's a big task.

an even more useful subtask would be to recode the literate tool into aldor.
then we can use and enhance our own literate tool without requiring the
awk/gawk/nawk/sed/perl/C pile.

it might be easier to accomplish an ALLPROSE rewrite once i finish the
next release of volume 4 of the books. in response to a criticism,
i've been trying to update the "developer's guide" (volume 4) to
include a detailed description of the build process. once that
completes i'm going to clean up volume 4 some more and add it to the
release. of course, adding ALLPROSE means rewriting this description
but that will have to happen anyway.




> Is there a plan how to convince stephen watt to free aldor at the Bronstein
> conference?

a plan? is begging a plan? i suspect Stephen has already worked on trying to 
open source Aldor. he knows there is interest and he is aware of the
petition page. because there are legal issues to check it can take time.
NAG took a long time from first request (august 2000) to release (sept 2001)
and they have a dedicated legal team. from the outside it always looks like
nothing is happening but i've spent months chasing the legal permission path
for some of the axiom documentation (e.g. thesis work, bronstein's latest
work, etc.). the legal process has a glacial quality about it.

i do plan to talk to Stephen and Mike about it at ISSAC.

perhaps with Stephen's permission NAG could dual-license the aldor sources
so they use the Modified BSD like the rest of the system. Mike Dewar might
have an opinion on this path. i haven't seen the contract between them so
i'm not sure if it includes an 'exclusive' clause. if not NAG should be
free to dual-license it. if so, Stephen's permission should be enough to
modify the contract provided it was in writing. if the copyrights transferred
in toto, which did not happen with Axiom, then Stephen has the full rights
to the copyright. i was not privy to any of these discussions.

there is no such thing as a simple job.

t