Re: Why All Software Should Be Open Source

On 2024-10-10, Lester Thorpe <lt@gnu.rocks> wrote:

At times I am involved with computer generated music using MIDI.
>
To create such music, a "soundfont" is required, and many soundfonts
are distributed as compressed SF2 format files.
>
To uncompress these files there are only two utilities available
(both Windoze):
>
sfArk: ????
>
SFPack: http://www.personalcopy.com/bigsounds.html
>
Fortunately, the SFPack decompressor is still available although
it is no longer (since 2007) being maintained.
>
Good luck finding an sfArk decompressor, however.  Unless one had
acquired the file a long time ago it no longer can be found on the Web.
>
Fortunately (but perhaps not), a GNU/Linux version of the sfArk
decompressor is found here:
>
https://github.com/raboof/sfarkxtc
>
Unfortunately, this FOSS version is for sfArk version 2 and
a LOT of soundfonts exist as version 1.
>
I have Windoze copies of both sfArk and SFPack but how long these
will be able to execute is uncertain.  Thus, collections of SF2
soundfonts everywhere will become FUBAR.
>
This is just one small, but highly important, example of why
all software should be open source.  As long as the source code
is available somewhere there will be no obsolescence.
>
>
 

I think I have an old version of sfArk for Linux somewhere, I'll dig it
out, see if it is the version for version 1.