Progress report on Open Source REBOL
Update: R3 source has been released. The source repository is:
https://github.com/rebol/r3 - as official releases are made, they'll be posted to rebol.com website.
I have to tell you, this whole process has been really difficult for me. I believe in elegant, strong, long lasting cathedrals, not the twisty maze of pasted together bazaars. The deeper implication of that sentence is intentional.
So, every neuron in my brain resists this process. It's not natural to me. I hate being in this position. But there's a reality here, and I know what must be done. Yes, this is the future road that I must take - that we must take - a journey.
Some of you are really eager to get going. I respect that. I understand.
So, here's where it stands...
- The source license will be Apache 2.0. In a nutshell, I selected it because I've found it to be more free and open than GPL. It's essentially a modernized BSD license. Yes, you can even use the code commercially and keep your changes secret. However, if you improve the code, I urge you to follow/support the spirit of our community and contribute back as much as you can.
- I'm not going to dump and run. Some of you are worried about that. I care a lot about REBOL. Although I don't have much spare time, I plan to take one evening a week to follow developments and stay involved. Of course, I'll need your help sifting through activities. I've talked about that before.
- I need a few "directors" or "masters" to help. Please email your suggestions to me at "open" at the domain of this site. Who do you think is best qualified? For the next couple days, I will confirm each email with a short reply. (So, if you don't see a reply, please resend the message. Email handling on this server seems a bit flaky at times.)
- The copyright and trademark will be held by REBOL Technologies. This makes sense.
- Official releases in source and binary will be made on rebol.com at regular intervals.
- The source management site will be GitHub. Really, it's not that complicated... it's just a bit different. I'll post a page that shows the few commands you need to get updates and submit changes. I'm also going to have a page on this site where quick fixes can be sent by anyone who doesn't have time for git - just to keep it really easy.
- I'd like to find a forum for discussion. Of course, this blog is good for announcements, but we need more. It should be something that's public on the web, really quick and easy to use, simple to keep organized. The normal requirements. I'll open a new blog to post your suggestion.
All that said, what you really want to know: Yes, I'm working on the source code to get it ready for uploading to GitHub. I hope it won't take much longer. As I said, this does not come easy to me. Painful. And also, my time has been very constrained recently.
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