• 29 Jan 2009 at 2:10 PM

Why Open?

By Bess Levin

According to our vibrant tip-line:

[JP Morgan] open-sourced the CDS analytics engine because no one remembers which precise version of the “binaries” (compield source) code was originally handed over to Bloomberg to fuel the CDSW page. Seriously.

Earlier: Open Source CDS Analytics?

Comments (32)

  1. 1
    Posted by Novice | January 29, 2009 at 2:21 PM

    Too Charles, didn’t Babbage.

  2. 2
    Posted by guest | January 29, 2009 at 2:21 PM

    It’s true.

  3. 3
    Posted by guest | January 29, 2009 at 2:22 PM

    Trust me. Those dinosaurs @Bloomberg have bigger problems to deal with.

  4. 4
    Posted by guest | January 29, 2009 at 2:23 PM

    Can someone explain this to those of us who don’t work in IT?

  5. 5
    Posted by guest | January 29, 2009 at 2:28 PM

    @4
    bloomberg: how about you let us use your models?
    jpmorgan: whatevs. talk to IT theyll give it to you.
    jpmorgan it: dude just take this.
    later…
    jpmorgan: shit, that thing we gave bloomberg is kinda wrong. we got a new version. wait, which one did we give them anyway? whatever, just open source it and let isda figure it out.

  6. 6
    Posted by guest | January 29, 2009 at 2:29 PM

    (DOW JONES) DJN: *DJ ECB’s Trichet: Euro-Zone, Euro Are Solid
    DJN: *DJ ECB’s Trichet: Euro-Zone, Euro Are Solid
    (MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
    Well that’s the kiss of death… I wonder who leaves first…

  7. 7
    Posted by guest | January 29, 2009 at 2:32 PM

    @5 best summary ever

  8. 8
    Posted by guest | January 29, 2009 at 2:32 PM

    God. What about all those Merill customizations in the BB system? I’m sure BofA has no fucking clue what they are.
    BofA, welcome to the party, suckers.

  9. 9
    Posted by guest | January 29, 2009 at 2:34 PM

    @4. Programs are written as a text, in a computer language that human can read (think Excel macros). The next step is convert the the text into the a set of actual instructions that a computer understands and executes, step-by-step. The resulting file called a binary and contains a bunch of alpha-numeric symbols.
    Therefore, when modify the original text code, you have to re-covert it, creating a new binary. Now the dilemma: what is the actual code is in the binaries that where given to Bloomberg? In plain language: you do not know how the results are being produced.
    The IT guy.

  10. 10
    Posted by guest | January 29, 2009 at 2:37 PM

    @9 :-
    @5′s is way better.

  11. 11
    Posted by guest | January 29, 2009 at 2:38 PM

    Hey IT guy, I heard a joke the other day…
    01000101110100101010100101001001

  12. 12
    Posted by guest | January 29, 2009 at 2:39 PM

    @6 The Euro may be toast, but the rise of the dollar is bound to end in tears as well. All future currency will also be binary: guns and cigarettes.
    Like Warren Buffett always says, “its not until they wake up naked in the woods with their clothes torn to shreds that you find out who is a Lycan”
    -The other IT guy

  13. 13
    Posted by guest | January 29, 2009 at 2:47 PM

    PEBKAC

  14. 14
    Posted by guest | January 29, 2009 at 2:49 PM

    @12 I hear ya… am currently long yen short euro and pounds…
    ~6

  15. 15
    Posted by guest | January 29, 2009 at 2:50 PM

    hey IT guy, there are 10 types of people in this world. those that understand binary, and those that don’t.

  16. 16
    Posted by guest | January 29, 2009 at 2:52 PM

    The Lycans are long the Leu

  17. 17
    Posted by guest | January 29, 2009 at 2:52 PM

    The Lycans are long the Leu

  18. 18
    Posted by guest | January 29, 2009 at 3:02 PM

    Heavenly Father,
    We come into Your presence to love and adore You.
    Thank You for Your love and Your desire for union with us.
    We welcome all that You wish to do through
    this healing prayer. We open ourselves to communication
    with You and Jesus through the ministry of the Holy
    Spirit. Come Holy Spirit, anoint us with healing so
    deep it reaches back into our blood line; with
    healing so wide it impacts our friends and relatives

  19. 19
    Posted by guest | January 29, 2009 at 3:03 PM

    Where can we download this so-called “Open Source”? If it’s not publicly available, you can’t call it open source.

  20. 20
    Posted by Seaman Bodine II | January 29, 2009 at 3:04 PM

    it’s more likely that it’s a cover up for the fact that whatever they did hand over is now understood to have a shitload of bugs in it

  21. 21
    Posted by StillNoCouch | January 29, 2009 at 3:05 PM

    Of course, the various versions in question could be recompiled and a bit-by-bit comparison of the compiled code versions could made … as long as they are done on the same machine/diskpack it’s always worked for me. Might be tough to do if it’s a highly fragmented process though.

  22. 22
    Posted by guest | January 29, 2009 at 3:07 PM

    6/14 – Still? Those crosses have had quite the move in the past six months.

  23. 23
    Posted by guest | January 29, 2009 at 3:09 PM

    JP Morgan can now say, “Hey, don’t blame us for the bugs and wrong answers. Blame the open source community”.

  24. 24
    Posted by guest | January 29, 2009 at 3:33 PM

    The open source can be found on Youporn and I will look for it tonight.

  25. 25
    Posted by guest | January 29, 2009 at 3:35 PM

    this is the second time they’ve done this. first time was when they invented VAR and then open sourced it and spun out their risk metrics group.

  26. 26
    Posted by guest | January 29, 2009 at 3:39 PM

    Ok, so whether or not you have garbage in, there’s always garbage out.

  27. 27
    Posted by guest | January 29, 2009 at 4:00 PM

    First rule of quantitative finance:
    Garbage in: Attracts Lycans

  28. 28
    Posted by guest | January 29, 2009 at 5:05 PM

    13 got it right, but 15 remains one of my favorite jokes.

  29. 29
    Posted by guest | January 29, 2009 at 5:06 PM

    @16,17
    Wow, a fellow Romanian?

  30. 30
    Posted by guest | January 29, 2009 at 10:56 PM

    15 ..best comment ever on DB

  31. 31
    Posted by guest | January 29, 2009 at 11:23 PM

    Never trust a guy who can count to 1024 on his fingers.
    –Calgary Schmooze

  32. 32
    Posted by Anal_yst | January 30, 2009 at 12:23 AM

    @ Calgary
    har har…alas I feel like despite its simplicity, the joke is lost on many, sigh…

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