OpenXDK

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OpenXDK is a legal, open source development system for the Microsoft Xbox game console. When programming software for the Xbox, developers have two choices. The officially supported method, the Microsoft XDK, can only be acquired by developers with a license from Microsoft. However, OpenXDK presents a legal and freely usable alternative. Whereas the OpenXDK is freely available, downloading or using the XDK without a license is illegal. Programs signed by the Microsoft XDK are illegal to use without proper license, and the resulting binaries cannot be distributed without a proper license from Microsoft. Programs written using OpenXDK, however, are legal and can be made available on the Internet for people to download as OpenXDK incorporates no code from Microsoft.

Although OpenXDK is free to use, it creates its own problems because it cannot compile traditional XDK code, and converting a program from the usual XDK-compatible code to OpenXDK would require an entire rewrite. OpenXDK compiles code differently and is completely alienated from the Microsoft XDK.