commercial development tools

[Mark Taube]

What is your feeling about commercial development tools for the Linux Platform
(such as the forth coming Kylix)?
I personally feel it is a very positive trend but others feel that only open
source tools should be used with Linux.
Do you currently use any proprietary dev tools for Linux apps?

[Neil Matthew & Rick Stones]

Hi,

Mark Taube <mark_taube@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:395b547f$1@news.devx.com...
>
> What is your feeling about commercial development tools for the Linux
Platform
> (such as the forth coming Kylix)?
> I personally feel it is a very positive trend but others feel that only
open
> source tools should be used with Linux.

We are all in favour of choice. It's good to see commercial
tools appearing for Linux, it shows Linux is being taken
seriously. It also means that for more specialised uses,
tools are available, which might otherwise have prevented Linux being
chosen.

Just because Linux is Open Source (and more than that, uses
the GNU Public License to protect freedoms), does not mean that
you have to use only open source products with it, or use it to
produce only open source products. You are at liberty to do with
it what you will, just so long as you do not restrict others freedom
to do with it what they will.

So, commercial tools for Linux are legitimate and can serve to
extend the adoption of Linux. They also provide a spur to the
open source community to make even better software.

It's great to see that the free tools (such as gIDE) are taking great
leaps forward, it keeps the commercial vendors on their toes,
and the prices down

> Do you currently use any proprietary dev tools for Linux apps?

No we don't. So far we have found all we need in the wide range
of free software. Although integrated environments like Visual
Studio on Windows are pretty, you can do just about anything
you need to on Linux with EMACS and Makefiles.

Having said that we will probably use gIDE in the future.

Neil and Rick