Jeff Law wrote: > The first camp sees FOSS toolkits as a means to help them sell more > widgets, typically processors & embedded development kits. Their belief > is that a FOSS toolkit helps build a developer eco-system around their > widget, which in turn spurs development of consumable devices which > drive processor & embedded kit sales. The key for these guys is free, > as in beer, widely available tools. The fact that the compiler & > assorted utilities are open-source is largely irrelevant.
That depends! The fact that the toolchain is open-source means we can maintain and bugfix our releases and provide feature enhancements to better support our customers. If we bought in a proprietary closed compiler we'd be critically dependent on the quality of the supplier's support in order to ensure the growth of that eco-system, an externality we might well want to avoid predicating our success upon. cheers, DaveK