[Proj] Re: Discovery: libproj4 stmerc = French Gauss-Laborde

[Gerald I. Evenden]

On Monday 19 June 2006 12:59 pm, strebe at aol.com wrote:
> I doubt the Open Channel Foundation source code has anything to do with
> Wallis unless the program was written by someone else he communicated
> with without his knowledge. Dr. Wallis has never tried to sell me
> anything; never mentioned the existence of commercial source code; and
> has communicated with me about his own implementation, including
> algorithmic subtleties and requests for independent confirmation of
> accuracy. He also considers the method to be "obvious" and not worth
> publication on its own. On the other hand, either he believes he
> originated the method, or else wanted me to believe he did.

Sorry, my statement was only idle speculation because of the similarity of the 
subject and the fact Dr. Wallis promised to publish the code several years 
ago.  It could have been an outlet for him and probably easier than going 
thought the pains of a professional publication---peer review, etc..

> I can't say whether the product mentioned before came first, or whether
> Dr. Wallis's method came first. I made Dr. Wallis's acquaintance in
> 1996, and I know he had written his implementation years before that,
> though I don't know how many. I'll contact him about the Open Channel
> Foundation program.

I did post a letter to Dr. Wallis a few days ago.  I explained my interests 
and promised that I would not release any material related to his work 
without his prior permission.  The reason for a letter was to communicate 
information related to libproj4 web site that is difficult to convey 
verbally.  I hope he has not moved.

> $61 for source code and documentation seems modest enough, but the
> inane export restrictions won't help Mr. van Vlijmen. While I will not
> supply source code, I'm happy to answer specific questions about
> implementing the method.

My objection to the ten bucks for the documentation reminds me of similar 
costs for NTIS material and only getting one or two pages of a totally 
worthless dissertation.  If the source code is commercially useful than it is 
worth more than $50 but seems steep to me for just academic interest.  
Especially considering the amount and often high quality of material 
available on the net for nothing.  There also seem to be chance of hidden 
strings to seeing the material that might compromise my being able to use and 
document derived material.

-- 
Jerry and the low-riders: Daisy Mae and Joshua
"Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum"
   Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary