Re: [EE]: opinion on Willem programmer?

Byron Jeff wrote:
> Where's the license? I looked on EmbedInc's software page, and
> downloaded the development software. The only license reference I
> found was in the aspic files:
>
> ;   ***************************************************************
> ;   * The contents of this file may be used in any way,           *
> ;   * commercial or otherwise.  This file is provided "as is",    *
> ;   * and Embed Inc makes no claims of suitability for a          *
> ;   * particular purpose nor assumes any liability resulting from *
> ;   * its use.                                                    *
> ;   ***************************************************************
>
> There was no separate license file that I could find and no such text
> in the .pas files.

The licenses are in the form of copyright notices in the individual files.
You must have found a really old one.  The one above isn't even a copyright.
The normal copyright for PIC source lets you use it any way you want but you
have to propagate the copyright notice at the start of the file unaltered.
In other words, I get credit in the source code, and any modified versions
fall under the copyright.

I'm not sure exactly what you downloaded, but to get the USBProg source go
to http://www.embedinc.com/picprg/sw.htm and download the Development
Software release.  The source files that are specific to the USBProg will be
in the SOURCE > PICPRG directory with names EUSB*.aspic and
PICPRG_*.INS.ASPIC.  For example, the EUSB_AD.ASPIC (A/D handler) module has
the normal copyright, and PICPRG_F30.INS.ASPIC (dsPIC programming algorithm)
module has the more restricted copyright.

The A/D handler is just general PIC code.  It's a nice example of how to do
interrupt driven A/D measurements, filtering, then reading the current value
and scaling it to fixed units on demand.  It's not a big deal, and I've
described the techniques in various places before.  Therefore I let people
use it any way they want as long as I retain the copyright and am thereby
credited in the source code.

The dsPIC programming algorithm module on the other hand took many hours of
reading the spec and experimenting to figure out how the parts really
worked.  I also developed my own techniques for handling a dsPIC which are
quite different from the brute force methods described in the programming
spec.  Creating a programmer for dsPICs is not trivial and thereby provides
a sortof barrier to entry into the market.  I don't want to see my code used
in someone else's product come back and compete with me, hence the more
restrictive copyright.

********************************************************************
Embed Inc, Littleton Massachusetts, http://www.embedinc.com/products
(978) 742-9014.  Gold level PIC consultants since 2000.
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