On Nov 11, 2009, at 4:39 AM, Lennart Regebro wrote:
If nobody is willing to write the code, the code is not needed.
I think it would be more accurate to say that nobody is deciding that the "need" is sufficient to invest the resources to fill it. There are lots of things that many people would be willing and able to write, that would fill a great "need", and that many people would benefit from, but that aren't getting written because there's no one willing to invest the time or money. In come cases people are both willing and able, but unable to invest the time due to the pressing need to make a living. I'd love to work on open source all day, but my wife and kids get cranky if they don't eat for a couple of days. People don't always agree on what is the "rational" need to fill, and sometimes what we, as programmers "need", and know would make us more productive, is not what the people controlling the pursestrings are willing to finance, even if it would ultimately benefit them financially. S