Nieminen Mika <war### [at] assaricctutfi> writes:
[...]
>   Also it doesn't make sense to publish half finished, deficient code. A
> beta version is just what it means: a test version, not the final version.
> It's designed for testing and bug hunting, not as a complete final program.
>   I understand this perfectly and also agree completely, and I don't see any
> problem with it.
>   You should be happy that they actually released a beta version. They don't
> have to release any test versions if they don't want to.

They don't have to release anything -- neither beta versions, source code
nor a final product. It's freeware.

BUT take a look at http://www.ssc.com/linux/Eric/cathedral-paper.html !
It does make sense to publish half finished, deficient code. If it works
for a big project like Linux, why not for POV-Ray? I really don't understand
why the povteam doesn't take advantage of the big number of povray users
with programming skills. 

As mentioned in the article there should always be two versions: a stable
one and an experimental one. In the case of POV-Ray this is currently
version 3.02 and 3.1b. Since the source code is availible for final versions,
it is already possible to screw it up and provide it to the net. Why are
the povteam members so frighten to show a partly finished product and
use the work of others that results from this publication? In my honest
opinion POV-Ray is a perfect candidate for a bazaar style development.
The povteam would still be the source of stable versions and the central
point for exchange - just like Netscape for the Navigator.

Just my $0.02

Thomas

-- 
Tho### [at] uni-konstanzde
http://www.informatik.uni-konstanz.de/~willhalm/
Tschieses lavs ju
An den BND: Eisbombe Fremdenfuehrer Siegfried Heilsarmee

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