From: Jim Starkey
Date: December 9 2008 4:38pm
Subject: Re: [Fwd: Real-World Concurrency]
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MARK CALLAGHAN wrote:
>> I do wish that a way could be found to move DTrace in Linux.  The GPL
>> license issue is infuriating: Linux can take DTrace under GPL because they
>> would have to publish any changes to DTrace under the original DTrace
>> license, and GPL doesn't permit giving back.   Grrrr.
>>     
>
> Double grrr.  I have spent the past week working part-time trying to
> find out what a certain storage engine is not as fast as I want it to
> be on a certain workload. It isn't CPU bound. It is wall clock bound,
> at least I need to figure out where the wall clock time is spent.
> Guess, rerun, guess, rerun, wish for OpenSolaris, rerun.
>
>   

It is rare that one can devise a mathematically rigorous proof that 
someone behaves like a pig headed jerk, but this is one.

First, a definition.  A pig headed jerk is a person or organization that 
refuses to cooperate on a win-win situation with like minded folks with 
a clear, mutually beneficial gain.

Now, the proof:

   1. Create a new software license by taking the GPL and replacing all
      occurrences of the work "gnu" with the word "new".  Call this new
      license the NPL (New Public License).
   2. Assume there exists two pieces of software A and B that work well
      together, but A was developed under the GPL and B under the NPL.
   3. It is illegal under both NPL and GPL to combine A and B despite
      the fact that the motivation, thinking, and law of NPL and GPL are
      identical.

Ergo, both GPL and NPL meet the definition of pig headed jerks (PHJs).  
Q.E.D.

-- 
Jim Starkey
President, NimbusDB, Inc.
978 526-1376