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Most software is based on previous renditions of the same software. This would never work in practice without giving up trade secrets.
by ApolloFortyNine 9y ago
Most software is based on previous renditions of the same software. This would never work in practice without giving up trade secrets.
- naasking 9y agoAnd? Trade secrets have and deserve little legal protection. This will have one of two effects: either software products will gain longer term support because companies want to retain their secrets, or supporting old versions becomes so costly for them that they are willing to let the source go. Either outcome seems better for customers. In fact, it's significant incentive for better development practices and good software design so these companies can maintain older versions more easily. Sounds pretty good all around, so where's the downside?