Kdb is fantastic as an app server framework. The q language is just enough syntax help on top of cryptic apl to make it useful to a mass audience.
We need a free and open project that replicates this functionality.
It is interesting how the closed source issue is consistently raised on HN with respect to k when there are numerous other examples of closed source software used by HN readers where I never see this issue raised. In those cases it does not seem to be important. For some reason however, it seems availablity of source code is important to some folks in the case of k.
I am curious; What would you do with the source code? Is it an issue of verifying what the software is doing, or perhaps being able to modify the software or make "fixes"? Is it something else? Maybe you simply want a free option for commercial use. If the later, please disregard my curiosity.
For me the issue I have with k being closed source has always been ports, i.e., limited OS support. They used to have a FreeBSD port many years ago, but today there is no support for OS other than Windows/Solaris/Linux, e.g., NetBSD.
The guys who license kdb/q probably make more money today from service/consulting agreements and not the software licenses. So it's to their benefit to go open (a la MongoDB)
Also, if you're building a tech stack from scratch - you want it to be "clean". You don't want to muddy it with expensive/onerous software licenses.
It's a public company, so you can go check:
https://www.firstderivatives.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/...
Software earns more than consulting, and the profit is better too.
Just because Mongo isn't good enough to make money on its own merits doesn't mean anything.
> Also, if you're building a tech stack from scratch - you want it to be "clean". You don't want to muddy it with expensive software licenses.
I've been in probably a hundred funding and acquisition meetings at this point in my life, and this has literally never come up.
/emul/linux is how I use k on NetBSD. However I hesitate to rely on Linux emulation because it does not seem to be something that is important to current BSD developers. If I am not mistaken, both OpenBSD and Dragonfly have removed it.