More work on the XML-RPC debugger. It now looks reasonable on an iPad. Added displays for the XML call and response. Helps to see what's going over the wire. More thinking about a JSON syntax, and what I would do differently a second time around. The original XML-RPC design was rushed, the work of four people with different perspectives and visions for where it would go. Now, 20 years later, what was speculative is now settled. And JSON has built-in syntax for the types that XML-RPC had define. So the resulting packet is smaller. I've kept the names, methodResponse, fault, etc, on the principle that fewer formats is better and perfection is a waste of time.#
Welcome to June 2018. My how time flies. #
I use GitHub as an integral part of my development environment. More all the time. As such, I don't like to think of GitHub as an owned thing, even though I understand that it is. I never worry about what's going to become of them. I probably should.#- Would Microsoft stay out of the way of people using it? I have no idea. #
- I bet they would integrate their cloud services with GitHub in some way. A button on your project to instantly deploy it in Microsoft's cloud, turnkey provisioning? Might be attractive. But it would be better for users (such as myself) if that were itself a platform that lots of service providers could plug into.#
- I think this acquisition, if it happens, illustrates why we should have non-profits at the center of the open development world. I can't imagine trusting Microsoft indefinitely. And if Google were to acquire it, that would send me immediately looking for other places to host my projects. #
- Amazon seems like a better match, although I understand Microoft might use GitHub to draw more attention to its cloud hosting services. #
- Update: I was asked why it seems to me that Amazon would be a better match. I have used Amazon's server systems for a long time, and they've never, as far as I know, abused the trust. The products do what they say they'll do, without strategy taxes. Microsoft's record is among the worst in tech. I lived through the 90s when they attacked the web, surrounded it from all sides, and were sued by the government for what they did (rightfully, imho). Yes, I know they have new management, and they are far less powerful now than they were then, which is why I prefer them to Google. #