[Axiom-developer] Re: Literate documentation

[Gabriel Dos Reis]

On Mon, 14 May 2007, address@hidden wrote:

| Gaby,
| 
| I've had extensive discussion with 3 different funding groups at the NSF
| and one at NIST. 
| 
| The problem isn't latex.

I do hope that the problem isn't latex.


However, I do believe that the problem is with *how the Axiom is presented*
to funding agencies.


That was the original point of my message.

[ don't look at my finger; I'm pointing at the moon. ]


| The problems appear to be:
| 
| 1) They won't fund work being done by commercial companies

People get federal money for work on Sage.

[...]

| 2) They won't fund work that is done by individuals
| 
|      Funded work needs an existing funding source that can handle the
|      finances. A university has a provost to take 55% or more of the
|      cash as "overhead". Open source does not have the financial
|      machinery in place to accept grant money or manage the required
|      reporting requirements.
| 
|      Funding an open source project with grant money has also
|      raised the question about how to distribute and use the funds.
|      Do we pay individuals? How do we judge the work? How is the
|      work to be reported? Who manages the money?

Federal money supports several open source projects -- just google
around.

[...]

| 3) They won't fund developers outside the country
| 
|      The NSF and NIST are federal agencies and are not much interested
|      in funding people who live and work overseas. They might fund a
|      "visiting scientist" position for someone working at a university
|      but that would not apply to an individual developer.

I'm would not ask NSF or NIST to fund "developers" outside the country.
(If I were NSF or NIST, I would not give the money).

However, NSF and NIST are interested in funding *innovative research*
projects.  The question is how do you get to present Axiom as a research
project that supports innovation?  Don't tell me by building something like
TeX or the TeX book.

|      I have not had any contact with INRIA or other European funding
|      agencies but I suspect they might have the same objection. Since
|      open source is worldwide there is no funding agency with the 
|      span of control to handle funding. 

Notice that European agencies are funding open source (research) projects.
A recent example I'm aware of to some degree:

    http://gcc.gnu.org/ml/gcc/2006-10/msg00676.html

and for more information:

    http://www.itea-office.org/

| My conclusion is that the NSF and NIST are irrelevant to open source.

I believe your conclusions are at odd with facts.

-- Gaby