I'm looking to start a company that specializes in crowdsourcing programs by giving the public rewards for their efforts. I'm thinking something like those old keyboarding programs that you had in elementary school (except you Nikita, because you didn't go to elementary school), where the cloud floats by and you type the right keys. It could be something like having a problem float by, along with a snippet of the code previous to it, and the user has to type the appropriate next statement. It could be packaged in a flash file and put on Facebook with ads for additional revenue. Companies will go for it because it allows them to keep most of their code closed source, while still getting free labor.
This will produce absolutely worthless and random code. ANDRU could probably write better stuff.
That said, it is not a bad idea. Just get some big contracts from governments and large ENTERPRISE corporations. They are used to things going $50M over-budget then canceling the project, and if you can lock them in for a long contract, by the time it is expired and you don't have anything to show for it, they'll refuse to say it was a bad idea and will pay you even more to keep trying.
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Anonymous2013-07-16 19:16
>>5
As someone who does work for enterprises, I wish I could say this was excessively cynical, but it's basically right.
it allows them to keep most of their code closed source What do you think everyone?
No thank you, I'll pass
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Anonymous2013-07-17 2:57
Absolutely terrible! This follows the python-ification and ENTERPRISE view of coding as `there is only one way to do it, and it has been posted on Stack Overflow if it isn't written in the Gang of Four book, so copy-and-paste it with that fancy mouse I bought you, developer'. Your proposed application - even for classical problems like `Implement mergesort' or `Remove an element from a linked list' - would only be applicable for the people who are advanced enough to be supposed to know how to solve these problems, yet unadvanced enough to not be expected to create anything new. It might make a decent study program for 2nd year university students or something, but only if properly seeded by a professor or TA.
At this point, of course, what you should do is rewrite it using the most advanced features of HTML5 using the clunkiest Javascript framework you can find, slap a NoSQL database on the back for whatever you can fit in, and try to spin it off as part of one of the thousands of initiatives to get kids programming. I give you 50/50 odds of getting acquired for more that I'll make this year.
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Anonymous2013-07-17 7:47
The idea >>1 is nonviable since you need really extreme modularization of code
and its closed-source nature isn't preventing
many people to combine their knowledge of your codebase and release an opensource alternative(this could theoretically happen or it will at least help reverse engineer your 'enterprise' software ).