> In the early days of computing, there was no need for software licensing.
> Programs were like other academic discoveries, and were communicated to
> others as items of interest for experimentation. It was not until someone
> discovered that they could put software on some portable medium and sell
> it that the idea of software secrecy began to abound.
>
This is a completely OT reply, but happened to be somewhat relevant to
something I was reading. To top it off, I'll likely misrepresent some
history :D
To set the scene -- late 19th century, early 20th -- David Hilbert is
sitting in his study wondering about a way to prove anything, make
mathematics into something sort-of-like, but maybe not quite, a
programming language. It wouldn't be the first time nor the last (think
Pascal, Alonzo Church, Immanuel Kant). But it doesn't work. Godel, in
raising some objections to Hilbert, also manages to destroy (and rebuild)
the foundations of mathematics. And another guy, Alan Turing, says "Hmmm."
You see where this is going?
Yup, mathematics is not some perfect system of truth, but an inherently
flawed computing language. The funny thing, as Turing realized, was that
it didn't really matter if the system was flawed since you could still get
a whole lot done with the system. A lot of physicists would likely agree
:D.
So how is this even remotely on topic? Imagine that a formula,
"e^(pi i) = -1" say, and then imagine that you're no longer looking at a
formula (i.e., statement of mathematics) but instead a programming
algorithm. Imagine trying to tell someone that you patented that
sequence. But how about something simpler: a^2 + b^2 = c^2. Or simpler
yet: 1 + 2 = 3. You'd probably be laughed out of the building. But you
can do this for software, because if you squint a little and moved your
eyes quickly, you can say that a program is really the same thing as an
equation is to the formula is to the algorithm.
Anyhoo, just a ramble because I haven't slept much over the weekend and
I'm wired on Kona and Blue Mountain.
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