I have some disagreements with your characterisation of the situation.
Not all software development is done in the author's "spare time," it is
sometimes supported by grants. Moreover, most software which is
available has been described in publications. If the software becomes no
longer available, should the publications be necessarily withdrawn?
-MMiPMW
On 10/20/15 09:16, Tim Gruene wrote:
> Dear Takanori Nakane,
>
> as far as I know, there is only one XDS developer, namely Wolfgang Kabsch.
>
> As Linus Torvalds phrased it: if you are not happy with a software (license),
> then you may write your own, although you don't even need to do so: dials and
> mosflm are open source, and maybe others, so you can choose a different
> program. If you take into account who develops (crystallographic) software and
> under what conditions (e.g. in their spare time), providing of the software
> should not be considered a service, but a courtesy of the developer.
>
> Best regards,
> Tim
>
> On Tuesday, October 20, 2015 09:35:14 PM Takanori Nakane wrote:
>> Dear XDS developers,
>>
>> I object to the decision to stop the distribution of
>> 32 bit binary. I know many people who still use 32-bit Linux.
>> I don't mean that the new version should be built for 32-bit.
>> I know a huge burden associated with the maintenance of building and
>> testing environment. Still, I believe that the last 32-bit build
>> (version June 17, 2015) be available without time limit. For example,
>> although CCP4 dropped support of 32-bit Mac OS, we can still
>> download older versions or build 32-bit binary from source codes.
>> Both options are unavailable for XDS.
>>
>> Honestly speaking, the way XDS is distributed is frustrating, where
>> only the latest binary with time limit is available. How can we
>> guarantee reproducibility of our research, if the exact version of a
>> scientific program used for the research is no longer available [1]?
>> Even worse, since XDS is a closed-source, black-box program, we do not
>> know what actually changed in each update. For example, what does
>> "simplification in the method for calculating the initial value of the
>> mosaicity" [2] mean? How does it differ from the previous, published
>> method? If the authors insist on keeping XDS source code confidential,
>> they should at least provide detailed explanations of the algorithms
>> in natural language, although it never substitutes source codes [3].
>> It is understandable that some authors want to charge non-academic users
>> to secure funding. But it does not justify secrecy of internals and
>> unavailability of earlier versions.
>>
>> [1] See discussion on ccp4bb last May
>> https:[log in to unmask]
>> [2] XDS Release notes
>> http://xds.mpimf-heidelberg.mpg.de/html_doc/Release_Notes.html
>> [3] Ince, Darrel C., Leslie Hatton, and John Graham-Cumming.
>> "The case for open computer programs." Nature 482.7386 (2012): 485-488.
>> http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v482/n7386/full/nature10836.html
>>
>> Best regards,
>>
>> Takanori Nakane
>>
>> (This is my personal opinion, and is not necessarily that of
>> my employer or projects I am/was involved with.)
>>
>> On 2015/10/19 23:07, Kay Diederichs wrote:
>>> Dear XDS users,
>>>
>>> a new package has been released for academic users; the download link is
>>> at http://xds.mpimf-heidelberg.mpg.de/ .
>>>
>>> There is no longer a 32bit version for Linux, and there is only a single
>>> package for OSX 10.6 and up. Those of you who still use 32bit Linux or
>>> OSX 10.5 thus should consider upgrading their operating system; the
>>> current (academic user) XDS package expires in less than 6 months so
>>> there is still some time left!
>>>
>>> As always, if there are bugs/crashes/problems then pls tell Wolfgang
>>> Kabsch or me about them; we can only fix bugs if we can reproduce them
>>> so pls be prepared to share (confidentially) the minimal amount of data
>>> with us that allows to reproduce the problem.
>>>
>>> best wishes,
>>>
>>> Kay
--
=======================================================================
All Things Serve the Beam
=======================================================================
David J. Schuller
modern man in a post-modern world
MacCHESS, Cornell University
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