Re: Xy Manuals Online (Was undocumented define functions)

[Carter Campbell campbeca@xxxxxxxx]

Some talk of extending the life of XyIII+:...

DA>I third the emotion. Indeed, why stop there? The successor to
DA>XyWrite for Win31 (if it every materializes) will likely be very
DA>different from Xy 3.5x, which (if it's purchasable at all)
DA>probably has minimal potential for further sales. If TTG donated
DA>the code for Xy 3.5x to the Free Software Foundation, they'd get
DA>a fair amount of goodwill and also publicity for their new
DA>product.

RH>Actually, I thought the best idea was giving 3+ or Xy4 to the GNU
RH>Project (Free Software Foundation, Cambridge). It's absolutely
RH>true that hackers would jump in and fix/extend the program, and
RH>generate a lot of interest, including collateral curiosity about
RH>Xy5. . . I'd love to give a good GUI WP a whirl.

Some time ago, a fellow mailed me about a similar subject (this was back in
the depths of time and I have lost the email message) suggesting that some
of the list members get togther and purchase the rights to XyIII+ and extend
it ourselves or donate it to the public domain. I thought this was a good
idea and suggested a few things I could envision myself; however, the
conversation seemed to end there.

I still think this is a good idea and have thought about this quite a lot
over the last little while, as in my travels around the WP world, have yet
to find anything that comes close to Xy for editing and just plain "getting
things done".

I would be more than willing to kick in some money and ensure the existance
of the "The Only True Xy" (no offence to TTG meant). I still use Xy
extensively (as of course we all do), even though I have to write a lot of
my project material in Word or Frame.

If we were to obtain the rights for XyIII+ we might be able to make some of
the changes that we all desire and end up with a WP that does what we need.
Who knows, we might be able to port it to OS/2.

Also, (and I am going out on a limb here) I assume that most of us are
writers first, programmers later (in my case quite a bit later), so it might
be in our interest to get someone else to cut the code. If we were to
create a system definition of the desired function upgrades, additions, and
enhancements, we might be able to get some people in India or Russia (I have
contacts in both places) to code it cheaply, thereby kind of keeping the
XyHeart pure (eesh, progism (programmal prejudice)). Quite frankly, I have
considered asking to some of the systems people I know in far-off places how
much it would cost me to have a WP coded for me (lots, I know, but how much,
if I provide the design specs).

Failing that avenue, off to the PD with it.

So, what do people think? Any comments?




Carter Campbell
campbeca@xxxxxxxx
Calgary Alberta
CANADA