Sam wrote:> Too bad - I'm fascinated by the language and will definitely spend> time learning about its various features, but there's no way I can> devote the time and energy to become expert in a proprietary language> that can be withdrawn from the public without notice.I have the same feelings. I'm going to put some effort into thisanyhow, since the documentation is (for a very pleasant change)extremely clear.But I have some additional fears. The license says that kdb+ will runfor at most 2 hours at a time, and that the entire thing will disableitself at a specified date (although the date isn't specified anywherethat I could find). Are any of those terms actually enforced insoftware? Even if not, they certainly could be, which makes the wholeassembly less appealing in general.There's also a prohibition against using kdb+ for "production". Isuspect that this is a legal term referring, possibly, to apublic-facing service that produces corporate income in some way... Ihope and believe that it _doesn't_ mean "you can't use this foranything useful for yourself".> (This brings up a larger question that I hope doesn't antagonize the> enthusiasts. Why are APL and its derivatives almost all closed source?> I have no problems with Kx or other vendors keeping their "secret> sauce" applications closed source, such as kdb++, but the language> itself? This inherently limits the available audience.)Ya, I always wondered.But hey, look at the good side -- this release definitely brings verygood things out in public, and the documentation is greatly betterthan anything we've seen in the past. I've always wanted to learn K,and here's a little chance, although one with no prospect of personalusefulness.> Sam Murphy-Wm