Re: What kind of industry do you mean? (Was: [Caml-list] objective caml and industry)

[Alessandro Baretta <alex@baretta.com>]

Mattias Waldau wrote:
>>I don't agree. My customers pay me to develop server
>>software on *nix, where the clients just happen to be Linux 
>>boxes but might just as well be windows boxes, for all I 
>>care. And I'm paid pretty well actually.
> 
> 
> Sounds more that you work as a paid consultant, so you make a 
> living by selling hours, not software. Making a living as a 
> consultant is much easier. I have also done that, but then 
> you can't decide what you would like to do, and you can't select
> the programming language of your choice.

Not exactly. I sell, deploy and run Linux based information 
systems.

> What I meant was creating commercial software, where the bulk of
> the revenue is on the licenses of the program. 
> Much higher risk than the consultant, but you are your own boss.
> (And you can use O'Caml, because your customers don't care)

The customers ask for features. I have to give them to them. 
They don't even *know* what language I am using.

> For example, someone knowledgable in O'Caml could take
> Spam Oracle by Xavier Leroy and improve it and package
>  ... <intersting suggestions on how to make commercial
 > Windows software>

It's not really the kind of business I'm interested in. I 
don't really like the idea of writing commercial software. I 
greatly prefer to write free software and sell it 
nonetheless. I *feel* better. I think that I'd get sick and 
get covered with green warts if I gave up Ocaml for VC++ ;-)

Alex

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