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This is a conversation between equals. You’re a software engineer, database administrator, web designer, or JavaScript guru. You can peek over my shoulder, or you can pair program with me at your convenience, on your schedule. You watch how I do things. I read and reply to your comments.
I’m a curious guy. I am constantly pushing myself to learn new things, ask why things are the way they are and how can they be improved, and broaden my perspectives. Even if you just read and don’t comment, it’s worth it to me to publish this blog. It’s one of the ways I continue to improve my own skills.
Real work, real challenges, real solutions
I earn my living as a professional software engineer, doing real work: e-commerce, catalog sales, Internet marketing and advertising, web design and development, and so on. I’m not in it for the glory. I’m not presenting at Web 2.0 conferences. I’m not a professor, an academic, not even an expert. But the challenges I overcome are real, and they’re relevant to you, because you’re doing real work too.
Your time is scarce. When you find my articles by searching for a solution to a problem, you need to read the solution and apply it. When you have a spare minute over lunch break, you need to read the article, understand the point, and still have time left to rinse out your coffee cup. I write clear, structured articles that explain solutions quickly, and demonstrate techniques and practices in a way that anyone can get and — importantly — remember.
My goals for this blog
This blog is original, quality content. I try not to duplicate other people’s content or answer questions answered elsewhere. Sometimes it may look like I do, but I consider every topic carefully, and I don’t write unless there’s a reason. On average, I revise each article for many weeks before posting, and I currently have 47 drafts in various stages of completion — and I delete more drafts than I publish. That’s how much time and thought I put into my writing.
This blog is regular. I currently have 15 articles finished, and I publish several times a week. I plan ahead for vacations and busy times.
This blog is focused. You won’t read about my vacations, my wedding plans, or which football team I’m rooting for. It’s about software engineering, not my personal life.
And finally, I listen and respond. If you have challenges of your own, I’ll try to help you solve them too.
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Announcement: Xaprb scripts are re-licensed
I have re-licensed some of my scripts under the LGPL, which means you can use them as part of other non-GPL software.
The scripts in question are:
Why the change?
I’ve always released my work under the GPL, but now that I’m writing and making available smaller scripts that might be used as part of a larger software system, the GPL isn’t as appropriate, because of the licensing requirements it places on the rest of the systems with which the scripts may be used.
I’m not making the decision casually. I’m a firm believer in free software, as in software freedom. Not only should software be open and un-encumbered by restrictions, but this freedom should be guaranteed even to the extent of prohibiting someone from making a restricted non-free work based on it. Software is encoded knowledge that belongs to humanity as a whole, just as certainly as mathematical formulae. That’s why I oppose non-free software and software patents.
However, for certain small scripts I’ve written, this rigid approach doesn’t make sense. I’m not releasing these scripts as “software.” The scripts mainly serve as working examples of principles and methods I’m trying to illustrate. From that point of view, the knowledge encoded in the scripts is already free — it’s in the articles I write to introduce the scripts, techniques and algorithms. Plus, I’m not breaking any new ground with the articles, either. Nothing I say here is revolutionary.
I read Richard Stallman’s writing carefully. Though he has a reputation for being a hard-liner, I value his opinions and judgement highly. When I’ve had contact with him, he’s come across just as he does in his essays: as a man of principles, which he will not yield. I respect that. One of his essays is about not using the LGPL. For the reasons stated above, I don’t think the points raised in that essay are applicable to the scripts I’ve released on this website. I believe these scripts are best released under a more permissive license.
The future
This is also a forward-looking change. I’m not trying to be grandiose about these little scripts I’ve written. They’re small snippets and they won’t change the world. But I’ve been working on some other things that are more significant, and I want everything I release to be licensed consistently with my beliefs. When I release these other projects, I’ll be careful to license them in accordance with what they are, what they do, and how others might find them useful.
I hope you, or the projects you’re working on, will find my work useful. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments, or improvements.
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