Re: Looking for Cocoa source code
Re: Looking for Cocoa source code
- Subject: Re: Looking for Cocoa source code
- From: Neil Steiner <email@hidden>
- Date: Thu, 06 Mar 2003 14:47:04 -0500
David Remahl wrote:
>
Apple is keeping the source to themselves, and this is actually good in
>
some cases, since it enforces encapsulation and forces you to rely only
>
on what is documented. The thing is, that the developer should not know
>
exactly what he/she is overriding, since that can change in future
>
implementations of the framework, and then break existing code.
Lance Bland wrote:
>
It pays to know the implementation details.
I agree with both of you, and I suppose that gives away the
purist/pragmatist struggle in me. If Apple hopes not to paint
themselves into a corner, then they need to exercise some level of
control over the interface. On the other hand, I have always benefited
from having access to source code, partly because it allows me to
understand how the underlying code was intended, to say nothing of
learning new frameworks (and by doing that, I've learned from some of
the best).
The forward compatibility issue is something that we all face (if our
own code has interfaces or APIs), but when I have access to someone's
source, and peek at it or pull some inferences from it, I understand
that I am assuming responsibility for my actions, and I understand that
my code may break in the future as a result of what I've done.
In most cases I'm willing to pay that price, and in hindsight I've
usually found it to be a bargain. (Partly because I usually confine any
resulting hacks to clearly defined glue sections.) My preference is to
have access to the source, with the understanding that I'm proceeding at
my own risk.
Neil
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