I had lunch with Jinyao, Guan Jie and Teck Hui today. It’s been a while since I last see them. [Actually, I last met Teck Hui and Guan Jie last Friday..] Guan Jie talks to me about Flash [Macromedia Flash MX] stuff with me once again. We always ended up talking about this. And once again, he requested for the source code of the Flash animations I created for our project last year. He did not know about Flash at that time.
Let me explain what it means by Flash source code first. Jinyao, Guan Jie, Teck Hui and I often collaborated in our projects. During the presentation, we submit Flash animations instead of the usual PowerPoint animation. I have to admit that it does give us an advantage. It impresses people. I create this Flash animation using a program called Macromedia Flash MX, and then I export the Flash animation in swf format. There is no way of viewing the source once it is exported. There is no such thing as the “View Source” option in Microsoft Internet Explorer. No editing and viewing of source code is allowed.
The reason why Guan Jie wants the source code is mainly for learning purposes I suppose. He wants to see how I animate the objects and how I code. Giving him the source code will allow him to view, alter every single thing in the project. That I ain’t happy.
I am selfish.
I did not want people to see my source code. I felt as if the source code is part of me. It’s like my baby ya’know. I spent more than 30 hours compiling it, editing it, perfecting it. I do not like the idea of someone viewing, what more if he’s editing, something I spend so much time on.
[You are selfish]
Yes, I am.
Last Friday, the topic came about. And I say I don’t really mind giving him the source code. He has been asking me again and again. Today, he asked again. I tried to change the subject, but it always gets back to Flash. I love to help him in learning Flash, however, not by revealing my source codes. For I have spent too much time and effort on it. I did not want people to peep into it. He really wants to see what’s inside. I like to aid him in his learning for this software, but…
[You are confused]
Yes, I am.
I felt sad to reject his request. Felt really bad as well. He’s a good friend of mine. I have yet to tell him that I do not wish to hand over the source code. I probably never tell him at all.
Possibly related:
- Microsoft releases source code for .NET Framework libraries
- jay//mario
- Some thoughts on open source and freeware
Tags: technology