Re: A83: Re: Flash App Hacking
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Re: A83: Re: Flash App Hacking
In a message dated 10/9/00 12:39:50 PM Central Daylight Time,
lairfight@softhome.net writes:
> In accordance with the prophecy, Hyperbyte uttered:
>
> > Come to think of it, it might be a good thing that it is so
hard/expensive
> to
> > make apps... If anyone anywhere could make apps, we would get drowned in
> > badly designed flash apps, and thus no be able to distinguish the good
> apps
> > from the bad apps.
> >
> > The way it is, app designers put a lot of work in it getting great apps,
> > working perfectly, because once signed, they cannot get it re-signed
> without
> > spilling another app-signing.
> >
> > This considered perhaps we should leave any attempts to hack the app-
> signing
> > process (not that there was much chance anyhow...)
> >
> >
> > Greets, Peter Martijn
>
> I don't agree. But this is ye olde argument of proprietary vs. open
software.
>
> Read "The Cathedral And the Bazaar" somewhere at www.tuxedo.org/~esr . I
> know
> that it isn't exactly the same debate (because anyone can code a flash
app,
> even
> if they don't work at TI) but I still think most of the arguments pro
> openness
> are valid.
>
> Linus
Anyone can code a regular old ASM program that runs from Ram as well, and
That is open. Not everything needs to be a FlashApp, and I dont think 83+
users would be better off that way. Ram programs are smaller, and serve their
purpose in their size, and I dont know of many more things that would be good
to have as a big 16K or 32K Flash Application. My latest project, Calendar
v1.0 (which includes more good stuff than just a calendar) is getting near
8K, and just because it is that large and somewhat falls in the category of
an application rather than game, doesn't mean I want to make it one. It would
be better suited as a MirageOS program, than another thing to list on the
Apps menu. Having smaller, individualized programs rather than one big
Organizer app doesnt allow for users to pick and choose what parts they want
to use, excluding other things they dont want to waste their memory for.
I am in favor of the other arguement that FlashApps require a bit more of a
degree of professionalism. You must agree with the fact that we dont want
many beginner programmers thinking they can throw anything into their own
FlashApp and release it. I think those people are better off making assembly
programs that execute from Ram, and doing so lets a person make updates to
the program easily. That is one flaw of FlashApps though, that getting it
signed doesnt allow you to change it and make bugfixes without having it
signed again. Yet, this fact lets FlashApp developers know they should get it
right the first time, if they dont want to use another signing credit, which
leads to more professional programs again.
Jason_K