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Maybe a dumb question, but what's in it for Apple for open-sourcing Darwin? Is it purely from some license restriction of some software they use? The next bes
by 2bitencryption 4y ago
Maybe a dumb question, but what's in it for Apple for open-sourcing Darwin?
Is it purely from some license restriction of some software they use?
The next best reason is normally something like "open source code tends to proliferate", like openSSH, Linux, git, etc. But Darwin does not seem to be thriving in this way - from the page, it seems to be a small hobbiest community, and it's not like Apple needs to depend upon the community for their core OS to thrive.
I'm definitely happy Apple releases Darwin as open source, so don't interpret this as me criticizing that. I'm just trying to understand their motive.
- humanwhosits 4y agoPerhaps it's useful for 3rd parties trying to develop device drivers. Can read the code when they're wondering why something is the way it is
- Lammy 4y agoIt is — or at least was, before LLVM/Clang existed and before Apple's GPLv3 Eternal September — a good way for them to give away something with no actual strategic value as a preemptive ideological rebuttal against their own use of Free Software in their otherwise-proprietary products.
- dTal 4y ago> I'm just trying to understand their motive. > I'm definitely happy Apple releases Darwin as open source You answered your own question :)
- yjftsjthsd-h 4y ago> Is it purely from some license restriction of some software they use? Pretty sure most of it is under permissive licenses (with some exceptions like GPLv2 BASH), so I don't think that's it.