Quote Originally Posted by FunkyDexter View Post
Why are they opening it up to read? I can't see a single killer reason. ... It means advanced developers can delve right down into the core if they need to. It means there's an increased chance of some open source project picking up the cross platform ball and running with it (though I personally doubt it and I suspect MS probably doubt it too).
Actually, the source code for the FW has been available for reading for some time. They published the symbols library link back in .... oooh... at least by 2009... so you could actually step into a Datatable.Update statement, and see the underlying C# code behind it (a for each datarow loop, calling a command.executenonquery) So reading has been widely available for some time now. What's different now, is that changes can be committed back to the FW. It also means I can pull down a copy of a class for the FW, add it directly to my app, and allow it to be a little more self contained. I could gut all the pieces I don't need or if I want to tweak something, I can.

For most developers I think this is largely a non-event. It will have the most significant impact on the small shops and the hobbyist. For those who exceed the revenue limits for the Community edition - we probably already work for a company that has shelled out for the Pro or Ultimate anyways.

I think this may actually be a good thing for the likes of Mono and other non-Windows development tools. Previously, they would have needed to produce their own FW libraries (which is what has caused Mono to stall in my opinion) but instead can now use the published code as a base... it serves as a platform to begin with a running start (although the Mythbusters busted that, it doesn't really work).

Part of the issues I think people are having, is that, yeah MS tried to keep things close and quiet, and if Balmer was still running the show, this wouldn't be happening... but there's been a regime change, a new attitude, and so as they make these kinds of changes, it's being eyed suspiciously. rightfully so. I just hope that that suspicion doesn't cause it to stall... kind of reminds me of the dog that finally catches the car, but then isn't sure what to do with it now that he caught it.

-tg