Kari,
Sorry about not getting back to you on your post sooner. (Now that the thundering herds of family and grandchildren have departed, I have the time to do so.)
The idea of turning XyWrite into a public domain project has both good and bad sides.
One difficulty is that unless we want to write a clone from scratch, getting a licensed copy of the proprietary code to port over to a modern OS platform could be difficult. That is, unless the proprietary owner would make it into a donation,
or a group of benefactors were to provide the money to buy it. Another problem is the number of man-hours needed to port the old code onto a modern platform so public domain ‘volunteers’ could continue to perfect it, maintain it and keep it current.
On the positive side, XyWrite is a classic editing and scripting tool, not unlike LaTeX, which could intrigue new and old programmers enough to give it a following. (There is a lot more to say on this aspect, but is OT here…)
Personally, I do have a few connections that could be a source of manpower to get this off the ground, especially in the public domain, but I’d need to make inquiries and see if I could stir up interest. (Namely in enlisting grad students
from the University I retired from. I also know some of the higher-ups who could put in a good word, many of these having a reverence for older platforms, like LaTeX.)
There are a few posts in this thread offering a wish list. However, to play the game, first you need a ‘ball.’
Phil
Sent from Mail for Windows 10