[cad-linux-dev] gone the way of betamax
- From: Eric Wilhelm <ewilhelm@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: cad-linux-dev@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2003 15:52:00 -0600
It occurred to me today that bzip2 seems to have lost the VHS vs BETA battle.
Not enough tools to work with it, not enough benefits from using it...
Seems that VRML may be another example of this, and I suppose we could add
IGES to that list, along with possibly STEP (though the steel industry's use
of this in SDS2 seems to offer some hope.)
It all just got me thinking that we should be aware of rules of the game as
we're inventing our new format (though a new format may not even be the end
result of all of this.) The tools have got to be many and attractive.
I know I've mentioned it before, but I don't mind repeating it: I'm out to
slay the entire notion of a file format. Instead of thinking about files and
formats, users just need to think about programs communicating. Sure, that
is currently possible, but it almost always involves clicking file->import,
file->export, start new program, click file->import, ... cilck, click,
re-label information. This is what we get from file formats. I don't really
care how we get there, whether it involves creating a new format and tools to
go with it, encapsulating old formats, just creating tools for existing
formats, ...
Now the trick is, no matter how we go about it, creating this new way of
working is guaranteed to drag us into the VHS vs BETA race. Look at Linux vs
Windows right now (this is a little different, because Linux isn't going to
die out) and there are some other historical precedents (Intel vs Motorola.)
It's possible that we won't know which is which until the dust clears, but
just remember: quality isn't the only selling point.
I'm not trying to be discouraging here, but I think everyone should know and
respect the dangers of the cheap plastic competition, advertising saturation,
defacto-standards and one-button mice.
--Eric
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