From: rbs{at}snippets.org
To: c_echo{at}yahoogroups.com

On Sun, 31 Aug 2003, Roger Scudder wrote:

> Thanks for donating the code.  Personally, I don't have an immediate
> need for it, but I always appreciate it when someone tosses a good tool
> into the toolbox.

Well, this particular package exists because I needed it and couldn't find
any readily available free functions at the time I needed it (ca 1997). I
maintain it as I find problems or need new capabilities. Ironically, this
particular version differs quite a bit from what I need at my current
client's. Since I'm working, as usual, in embedded systems, I can't use
dynamic memory allocation. Also, I have to work with 32-bit floats since
the memory overhead of maintaining 64-bit doubles is unacceptable on this
target platform.

So, I did what I usually do - updated the SNIPPETS code on my own time,
then adapted it for the client's needs. I get paid a little less (at least
on this job), but then I also have clear rights to reuse it next time.
Each time I reuse it, I can either save the client money by saving the
time to write it, or make money on it again by re-adapting it to the new
requirement. But it's never about the money - it's about being able to
reuse my own code! By doing it my way, the client owns only the changes
and the originals remain public domain or free.

> I have a couple of questions about snippets:
>
> Is there a significant amount of code on the snippets web site since the
> last distribution (9707)?  I see that you have documented some updates
> on the site.

There are actually a number of incremental bug fixes and updates. Most of
the fixed code will have my name or initials somewhere, since I fix/update
them as I need them for personal use.

Ones that have had significant enhancements are INI.C/H and GETOPTS.C/H
since I've used both on multiple jobs.

> Do you think you will distribute updates to Snippets via archive file
> ever again?

Yes... Clicking the "Download .ZIP" button on the SNIPPETS home page
currently retrieves only the SNIP9707 archive. Since I'm splitting up the
collection by areas of applicability (C, C++. Java, D, Perl, Python, DOS,
Embedded, and Utilities), there will be multiple compressed archives. Each
will be available in portable Zip or tarball formats. But I've got a lot
of work to do before I get back to reorganizing the individual archives.

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