[antlr-interest] Price of Antlr Studio

Scott Stanchfield scott at javadude.com
Thu Sep 22 05:20:29 PDT 2005


[RE "open" etc]

<shaking head>

Geez folks.

If you don't like the terms, *don't use it*. The terms aren't yours to make;
they're Prashant's.

Why does it *really* matter if he provides source? How many people *really*
read it? Does it make the tool itself any better or worse? No.

Evaluate the tool on what *really matters*:
* is it useful to you?
* does it make you more productive?
* does it actually work?

I used PCCTS when it first came out without ever looking at the source. I
needed a good tool for a compiler class. I had been using lex/yacc and found
it hard to debug my generated app.

Because it and ANTLR are open, I can extend it (which is nice), but that
wasn't why I used it. If it were closed source, I still would have used it
because it's a good tool.

Same for Eclipse. I use it because it's a good tool. Plugins are nice (and
easier to develop b/c eclipse is open), but nearly all of the folks I know
who use eclipse have never looked at the source nor even care to. Good tool.
That's all that matters. The rest is icing.

-- Scott




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