Subject: Re: why there are no free-CLIM or free-IDE?
From: Erik Naggum <erik@naggum.net>
Date: 30 Oct 2000 10:02:11 +0000
Newsgroups: comp.lang.lisp
Message-ID: <3181888931569122@naggum.net>

* sungwoo@cad.strath.ac.uk
| I just wonder that why there is no free CLIM or free IDE like a ACL
| windows version?

  Because it takes a lot more work than people have been willing to
  put up, quite simply.  This means that it most probably pays better
  to purchase the software than to build it.  Keeping in mind that
  most free software is built by students who are not likely to make
  any real money (for anyone), anyway, it is most common to find free
  tools where free labor is available, too.  The darth of free Lisp
  stuff is most probably caused by the fact that most Lisp programmers
  are much older than most of the other language's programmers, having
  graduated into Common Lisp from their early languages.

  Those who discover Common Lisp at a time when they are unable to pay
  the full price for a commercial license are actually lucky.  It
  takes most programmers a lot more time to discover Common Lisp than
  that, such as having had to work with really painful tools, very
  slow development processes, etc.  Many languages are sort of
  catching up, but Common Lisp and its environments are still years
  ahead of the pack in many ways.  I'm not sure the increasing numbers
  of younger users are sufficient to make the necessary dents in the
  relevant statistics, though.

#:Erik
-- 
  Does anyone remember where I parked Air Force One?
                                   -- George W. Bush