From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.io!.POSTED.blaine.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Jean Louis Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.devel Subject: Re: [ELPA] New package: repology.el Date: Tue, 26 Jan 2021 06:40:50 +0300 Message-ID: References: <07350cee-06f7-223a-d92c-00a7e6df9166@yandex.ru> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Injection-Info: ciao.gmane.io; posting-host="blaine.gmane.org:116.202.254.214"; logging-data="23993"; mail-complaints-to="usenet@ciao.gmane.io" User-Agent: Mutt/2.0 (3d08634) (2020-11-07) Cc: Ulrich Mueller , ams@gnu.org, rms@gnu.org, arthur.miller@live.com, emacs-devel@gnu.org To: Dmitry Gutov Original-X-From: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane-mx.org@gnu.org Tue Jan 26 04:46:06 2021 Return-path: Envelope-to: ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane-mx.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([209.51.188.17]) by ciao.gmane.io with esmtps (TLS1.2:ECDHE_RSA_AES_256_GCM_SHA384:256) (Exim 4.92) (envelope-from ) id 1l4FIs-00069n-1i for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane-mx.org; Tue, 26 Jan 2021 04:46:06 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([::1]:43176 helo=lists1p.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.90_1) (envelope-from ) id 1l4FIq-0006cf-Vl for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane-mx.org; Mon, 25 Jan 2021 22:46:04 -0500 Original-Received: from eggs.gnu.org ([2001:470:142:3::10]:55276) by lists.gnu.org with esmtps (TLS1.2:ECDHE_RSA_AES_256_GCM_SHA384:256) (Exim 4.90_1) (envelope-from ) id 1l4FI3-0006Ak-0A for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Mon, 25 Jan 2021 22:45:15 -0500 Original-Received: from stw1.rcdrun.com ([217.170.207.13]:37029) by eggs.gnu.org with esmtps (TLS1.2:ECDHE_RSA_AES_256_GCM_SHA384:256) (Exim 4.90_1) (envelope-from ) id 1l4FHz-0006mL-U7; Mon, 25 Jan 2021 22:45:13 -0500 Original-Received: from localhost ([::ffff:197.157.0.39]) (AUTH: PLAIN securesender, TLS: TLS1.2,256bits,ECDHE_RSA_AES_256_GCM_SHA384) by stw1.rcdrun.com with ESMTPSA id 000000000001E085.00000000600F9044.00001589; Mon, 25 Jan 2021 20:45:07 -0700 Mail-Followup-To: Dmitry Gutov , rms@gnu.org, Ulrich Mueller , emacs-devel@gnu.org, ams@gnu.org, arthur.miller@live.com Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: <07350cee-06f7-223a-d92c-00a7e6df9166@yandex.ru> Received-SPF: pass client-ip=217.170.207.13; envelope-from=bugs@gnu.support; helo=stw1.rcdrun.com X-Spam_score_int: -3 X-Spam_score: -0.4 X-Spam_bar: / X-Spam_report: (-0.4 / 5.0 requ) BAYES_00=-1.9, RCVD_IN_SORBS_WEB=1.5, SPF_HELO_PASS=-0.001, SPF_PASS=-0.001 autolearn=no autolearn_force=no X-Spam_action: no action X-BeenThere: emacs-devel@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.23 Precedence: list List-Id: "Emacs development discussions." List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane-mx.org@gnu.org Original-Sender: "Emacs-devel" Xref: news.gmane.io gmane.emacs.devel:263436 Archived-At: * Dmitry Gutov [2021-01-25 21:30]: > On 25.01.2021 19:59, Jean Louis wrote: > > If schema is data it is part of software together with instructions. > > > > If schema represents rules how to produce digital document it is part > > of software. > > We don't consider the bitmap files in the Emacs distribution to be software. > > And yet, they contain the "rules" to produce each individual picture on the > screen. So what is "software" for you? Maybe you use different definition. If we speak of software it is anything that one cannot physically by using hands touch, assemble, disassemble, and repair. It is related and opposite to hardware. It is data in any form that is stored digitally on hardware. Bitmap files and program are software. They are not hardware. In general, if one wants to know if something is software there is simple test: Is it hardware? If it is not hardware, but is stored on hardware memory devices then it is software. It can be a picture of course. It could be picture alone without any program to use that picture. Software is what is not hardware. If some schema is used to verify document in any manner that is definitely data and it is there for a program to process that data. Program’s function depends on that data, thus data becomes part of program. Such data can be optional. Program’s function can be optional. That does not make the data less part of specific software. It can be part of various other software packages. Software as general term is that data inside memory that is not hardware. Be it executable program or not. Software package is what is bundled together to make the whole program function. Program alone is software, but in example of Emacs there are many programs bundled together and they do not constitute plural of software such as Emacs softwareS, rather all Emacs package together is called software. All digital information coming in the Emacs package is "software". That is how all software packages in the world are marketed, sold, purchased, referred to. "Software" and "program" are different words with different definitions. Data may be separate from programs, but any digital data on computer is always processed by some programs. Any digital data is software because it is not hardware but is stored on hardware devices. So any picture, any type of file, or text is software. Any type of file is processed by program such as operating system to at least display that such file exists on hardware. One need not run the file. The file need not have specific procedure or set of instructions, thus it need not be program to be software. It is processed by software sooner or later. Software is what can be processed by CPU and is stored digitally. In my opinion, a computer program or other digital data written or printed on paper does not represent software. It is printout of software. But such printout does represent a computer program. One could call it "software" but I think that is mistaken as such cannot be directly run by CPU and it is not digitally stored. So such are not software for me. Jean