Re: [Axiom-developer] Axiom, FriCAS, forks and teeth

[Bill Page]

Alasdair,

On 7/8/07, you wrote:
> So I go away for an internet-free weekend, and what do I find when I come
> back?  A fork of Axiom with its own name, and people on the mailgroup baring
> their teeth at each other in a most unseemly manner.  So, so, fork away...
> but what I want to know is - where does this leave me, a common-or-garden
> user?

Personally I think you should view this as a positive development.
Clearly people care passionately enough about Axiom to argue about it
and to commit very significant efforts in the directions that they
most believe in, so one way or another it's future is now more assured
than it was before.

>  Learning a CAS - any CAS - really well, is a non-trivial task, and
> after spending much of the last month or so finding my way around Axiom,
> this forking business has me feeling very uncertain as to where - or whether
> - I should put any more time into these projects.  I have come to like Axiom
> very much indeed, but if it and its users are going to split into
> acrimonious groups, I shall feel very unsure of where my loyalties lie.

As an Axiom user I do not think you need to be very concerned about
where to place your loyalties. In spite of the differences in
approach, both the original Axiom project and the new FriCAS fork
still have largely compatible goals - a better and more reliable open
source computer algebra system.

> Maybe I should go back to Maxima...

I like Maxima too. But Axiom is different. By now you know all the reasons.

> I'm very nervy about all this.

Please don't be. From your vantage point you should be able to enjoy
all of this "FriCAS fracas" and ultimately benefit from one or the
other of these projects. There is no reason to think that the Axiom
project is going to disappear or that somehow that you will be asked
to take sides in some emotional debate.

Stay cool.

Regards,
Bill Page.