Analog? Forget this word

It is better not to look for analogues, it is better to look for programs that perform the necessary tasks - it will be easier.
Comrade with Laura

How annoying it is when they say “something analog of something” in relation to software: OpenOffice.org is an analog of MS Office, Ubuntu is a “free analog of Windows”, Gimp is an analog of Photoshop. As a replacement for the word analogue, the words “replacement” and “alternative” are often used. And it is not particularly important how they say - the main thing is what they mean and that as a result the person who read, heard it, understood .

And usually imply the following:

1. Full compatibility with what is compared.
2. All innovations from what is compared should appear in this product.
3. Able to do everything that can do the product, which is compared.

I, as a developer, declare:

• no sensible programmer will ever write an analogue of something . Write an analogue - do not respect yourself.
• no program can be analogous to another
• each program is individual and should be used without regard for the others.
• compatibility with "foreign software" - just a bun

State of things

That's really zadolbalo:

• OpenOffice is such a shit that it can’t normally open my Word file
• Gimp is such a crap that does not support Photoshop% normal% something%
• % Not_Windows_OS% is not usable, because% some_soft_from_windows% does not work in it

The question immediately arises: why the hell should they do what you want, what would they do?

For some reason, rarely (but really does happen) reverse statements are heard, but with the same degree of confidence we can say that

1. MS Office sucks, because it does not know how to work normally with ODF. (By the way, this is an international standard, unlike DOC)
2. Photoshop stupid garbage, because it does not know how to work with XCF (Note, gimp works quite well with PSD)
3. Windows sucks because I can’t update all software with a couple of clicks, like in Ubuntu (Windows’s progress in this field is just beginning)

For example, I believe that all the above-mentioned points (with the exception, perhaps, of the first) can also have a completely adequate answer: “Why should they be able to do this?”.
')

And why should they be able to?

And should not.

They may be able to. If developers want. The developers of OpenOffice wanted and are constantly improving support for ms office formats, I'm really not sure that they really want it so much, but they decided to make it more convenient for the user. Should not have been, but decided that it was worth it to do so. They made a gift to the user and honestly write when they save that they cannot guarantee anything when working with this format. They gave a free bun. Helped the user. They do not want to receive in response thousands of cries, “the bun is not sweet!”.

Well, why developers of Program A should make their program work with the data that Program B does, and developers of Program B should not?

Developers should work on the accepted standard in the program format, improve their program, and not run after another. This is all forgotten and constantly compared, putting one of the programs a minus for the fact that she does something wrong, like the other.

They are so different, but they are still something unites

And it's just the time to remember that the only thing that should unite OpenOffice and MS Office is that they belong to the class " Office suites ".

GIMP and Photoshop - to the class of " Raster editors ", and * nix and Windows - to the class of " Operating Systems ".

And they all do an excellent job with their own obligations.

% soft% does not know how i used to

And here it is worth sticking a tangle. You are used to doing something, you are used to doing it somewhere? In some kind of software. So the sentence correctly sounds "I can not do something in% soft%, as in% another_soft%."

There are already two forks: either the software in which you are trying to do it, just does not know how to do it (well, it doesn’t know how to do it), or there is a certain approach for it. So you need to figure out what this approach.

For this there is:

• Reference. The most popular products have such a reference that it is simply impossible to find something in it.
• Site, Wiki programs .
• Program Forum, Mailing Lists
• Forums on the Internet, search engine
• Paid support

Very often on the websites of software manufacturers posted detailed FaQ'i.

You do not know how to number the pages in the writer?

• Read the help (in the "index" or "search" enter: "numbering").
• Google , by the way: the first link is to the quite official FaQ.

A little more about the approaches

Each software is individual. Developers are trying to make it so that they are comfortable to use and for this they come up with different approaches to doing anything. Instead of “wanting like there,” it is worthwhile to figure out how to do it here .

If you have already started to talk (fuu, again about openoffs) about OO.org, then we’ll remember everyone’s favorite styles. Everything is tied to them.

• Numbering all pages except the first? Styles of pages will come to the rescue.
• Make chapter numbers - paragraph styles will help
• Make all the headlines bigger? Well, you understand ...

Yes, software imposes certain approaches, at times strongly differing with other software, but the developers had some motives to make just such an approach. Try to understand him and life will become easier.

A few words about "standards"

As Photoshop is not a standard among raster editors, Word is a standard among text editors.

They are simply the most popular. It does not matter due to: the fact that they are so good, good or the fact that they have excellent marketing.

They are not recognized as a standard, and generally it’s impossible to recognize any kind of software as a “standard”. This is the official announcement of a monopoly among the class products. And we are struggling with a monopoly. Well, at least in the US are struggling.

The standard can be recognized format. Standardization is not a software manufacturer, and committees independent of him. Of course, software manufacturers are included in them, but do not fill them with their bodies at 100% volume ...

How to find the right software

Yes, sometimes developers write that their program is a replacement for something. Mostly in the form of "developed as a free replacement for something_to." But do not hope that any program is designated by the developer as a replacement for something.

You are not looking for a car, like some kind of “audi” model, but cheaper from another manufacturer. Which concern with oak will collapse and write that his car is a replacement for some other manufacturer's car?

Here and there. Look not for “Photoshop for linux”, but “raster editor for linux”, not “free Visual Studio”, but “free IDE for C ++”. Everything is simple.

In canclujun

Why did I say all this? Oh yes, then, to express your opinion and summarize. And the result is simple.

There are no analogues in the "software industry" and should not be.

There are no standards among software.

Well, do not tell students to “do it in BPWin” and give the distribution kit with Crack in% soft% ".

The last statement is somewhat controversial and I would not want to breed a flame on the use of software in education, on forcing to use pirated software - perhaps I will write a separate post about it.
Thanks to all.