Re: Test suite? WAS Open source niceties

10/4/02 5:09:54 AM, "Peter D. Ward" 
<pdw-8vCV/ysLmtGNxDRMFtSYuw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

<---snip--->
>You'd like it to be moot, but if it constituted misused trade secrets from
>Amdahl, then you and yours could be subject to federal criminal satutes 
>covering this sort of thing.  See for instance:
>
>http://my.execpc.com/~mhallign/crime.html
>


Oh my, it would seem Mr. Ward that you missed something in what you read... I 
quote:

  The term "trade secret" means all forms and types of financial, 
  business, scientific, technical, economic, or engineering information, 
  including patterns, plans, compilations, program devices, formulas, 
  designs, prototypes, methods, techniques, processes, procedures, 
  programs or codes, whether tangible or intangible, and whether or 
  how stored, compiled, or memorialized physically, electronically, 
  graphically, photographically, or in writing if (A) the owner thereof 
  has taken reasonable measures to keep such information secret; and 
  (B) the information derives independent economic value, actual or 
  potential, from not being generally known to, and not being readily 
  ascertainable through proper means by the public.

I would put to you that in the Hercules context the Public would almost 
certainly be represented by System Programmers among others and that the skills 
of these members of the public would render moot the entire trade secrets issue 
as even a Jr SysProg can write a comprehensive test suite. Test suites are time 
consuming and mind numbing to create yes, but hardly secret technology.