Free Linux development tool from PROIV

Ok, now I can download this allegedly so-mega-cool IDE I have never heard of and I even get a full version. Now fine, but at their FAQ they say I am only allowed to run the application I developed on my own machine. Deployment (and commercial usage) is not allowed. That means I am not in full control of a piece of software I created, what a joke!!!

Later I wanted to take a look at the full license agreement to see what the exact terms were, but the website did not let me. A page appeared that said I must be logged into to access the full license agreement. Aha, it seems I have to buy the cat in the bag, too. lol

Yeah cool, that is an absolutely fantastic cash-cow if it just would work. A developer creates a program and then for EVERY bloody copy he distributes the PROIV guys charge money. And then they claim this is the especially suited for Linux developers. Woot? Am I right in the head? How can I develop free software if I cannot even control when and where who may be allowed to run a copy?

Either these guys don't speak English or this is the worst license I've ever seen. Just imagine, you have to pay to be allowed to let others run software you have developed? Or maybe worse, the customer has to pay? What the heck they cannot be serious about this can they? This product must be awfully good that people are actually buying that shit. I won't because if I develop software on my own account it is me who wants to set the terms what other people may do with it, not a bloody company whose IDE I use.

The licensing agreement for the PROIV product is not atypical for certain niches of the software industry. If commercial Linux developers see it suits their needs then they might adopt it otherwise they will look elsewhere.

However, there are other problems with PROIV which I feel make it very unlikely to attract any Linux developers at all. Some of reasons are as follows:

1. The development IDE (client) only runs on a PC running Windows. Thats right! You can deploy the server component on Unix/Linux but the IDE client software only runs on Windows. (The PROIV server component is basically a virtual machine and file manager.) Furthermore, the client application software also only runs on Windows. I repeat: all the PROIV client-side development and end-user software only runs on Windows.

2. Your PROIV "source code" is spread over dozens of proprietary ISAM files. Your "source" is inaccessible as normal text and you cannot use your favourite IDE, editor, source code control system, grep, diff and other text processing tools. You cannot even do a basic task like global search and replace for a string over multiple files, using the PROIV IDE. PROIV has its own very weird and limited IDE which does not conform to basic Microsoft GUI standards (nor any other standard). I say "Microsoft GUI standards" because as I previously mentioned the IDE only runs on Windows. Furthermore, if you want to access your own source code directly in the PROIV ISAM files (e.g. to perform a global search and replace for a string), you will need to negotiate with the PROIV vendor for the privilege of obtaining the propietary file formats (all 150 of them!) to be able to read the data files.

3. PROIV provides no way to allow interprocess communication. Your PROIV app cannot talk to other systems. You can write your own interfaces but it is a lot of work. Writing interfaces for PROIV-based applications is how I earned a living for 10 years.

4. No support for modern developments like Web services, etc. PROIV is a very old system. There is an add-on called PROIV Bus and Tasks which allows external systems to call in to PROIV app but that has severe limitations and is hard to program/debug.

5. No support for modern programming practices such as Objected oriented programming. No support for structured programming - not even normal C/Pascal type procedure calls.

6. Long steep learning curve. This product is very idiosyncratic. A developer may be better off learning Java/Eclipse or Delphi or Visual Basic or ... anything except PROIV.

I speak as a professional C/Unix/Windows developer who has worked with large commercial PROIV apps for over 10 years. My advice: This product is a stinker. Keep well away.