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In article <Xns902F9BC79418Fhookflashhotmailcom@204.213.191.228>,
hoo### [at] hotmailcom (Hookflash) wrote:
> I love MegaPov, but we are being kept waiting in the dark as far as the
> actual development schedule is concerned. If someone on this newsgroup
> asks when 3.5 will be released, they will get several "When it's ready"
> responses, which are pretty much useless.
Well, that *is* the answer...there is no way to predict the final
release date. All of the information has been given: it is not yet beta,
not all of the additions have been completed, but it will have most of
the new features of MegaPOV, the feature list has been frozen, the
features just have to be implemented and tested, and nobody knows when
it will reach beta, let alone final release.
> I, personally, have no desire to strip out the renderer and use the
> parser or anything of the sort, but I don't really see what harm
> there would be in doing so.
Basically: it wouldn't be POV-Ray any more. The harm would be in someone
pulling out the renderer to use in their own program or distributing
crippled versions.
> That's the whole idea behind OpenSource:
> Sharing of source and ideas.
POV-Ray is *not* Open Source. It is copyrighted freeware, and the source
code is available, but that does not make it "Open Source". And there is
nothing wrong with that...the authors wanted tighter control over
*their* project. The idea behind releasing the source was to:
"1) promote the porting of POV-Ray to hardware and operating systems
which the POV-Team cannot support. 2) promote experimentation and
development of new features to the core code which might eventually be
incorporated into the official version. 3) provide insight into the
inner workings of the program for educational purposes."
(from povlegal.doc)
POV-Ray 4.0 may become Open Source, however...as mentioned in the latest
status report.
> Peter Popov mentioned that some parts of PovRay were written by
> people who can no longer be contacted, and therefore using their code
> without restriction (and without their permission) could lead to
> trouble.
> Well, I don't think these people would've contributed their code with
> that sort of attitude; and, even if they had, are they really going
> to take the time/effort to cause trouble?
It doesn't matter whether it will cause trouble or not, their permission
should be obtained first. Similarly, it doesn't matter if you think they
wouldn't mind.
> >And a much more "open" development model is planned for POV 4.0. For
> >more information, read the message "POV-Team Status Report -
> >September 1, 2000" by Chris Cason in
> >povray.announce.frequently-asked-questions.
>
> This is a relief, but, at the current rate of PovRay development, I
> don't know if I'll live that long;-P
I assure you, development *is* being done on it. POV-Ray hasn't been
abandoned.
But also remember that the POV-Team is doing this as a hobby in their
free time...they do not make money off of it, and in many cases spend
money on it. If you want the latest, go get MegaPOV.
--
Christopher James Huff
Personal: chr### [at] maccom, http://homepage.mac.com/chrishuff/
TAG: chr### [at] tagpovrayorg, http://tag.povray.org/
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