> What planet are Microsoft on? You'd have thought that they'd
> understand what happens if you don't publish your interfaces; people
> reverse engineer them and work out their own ways of doing it. When
> this happens, developers unknowingly introduce dependencies on parts
> of the system that are going to change. Compatibility hell ensues.
That's exactly the point! They _do_ understand what happens in this
circumstance: Other developers can never quite keep up-to-date with the
moving target, and can never _really_ be sure that their product will work
correctly. This translates into an opportunity for Microsoft to spread
FUD relative to purchasing add-ons from anyone but them.
At the same time, because they _appear_ to be cooperating with third-party
developers, they avoid heat from the Justice Dept. anti-trust group.
Very clever in a diabolical sort of way, don't you think?
Steve