The analyses of the convoluted text

Question

Under a broader DARPA contract at TIS, Marcus Ranum, Wei Xu, and Peter Churchyard developed the Firewall Toolkit (FWTK), and made it freely available under license on October 1, 1993. The purposes for releasing the freely-available, not for commercial use, FWTK were: to demonstrate, via the software, documentation, and methods used, how a company with (at the time) 11 years' experience in formal security methods, and individuals with firewall experience, developed firewall software; to create a common base of very good firewall software for others to build on (so people did not have to continue to "roll their own" from scratch); and to "raise the bar" of firewall software being used. However, FWTK was a basic application proxy requiring the user interactions.

1. I think "freely-available" modifies "FWTK" and "not for commercial use" is the inserted adverbial phrase.
2. I think the colon before "to demonstrate" should have been a semicolon to play the role of "comma."

I'd like to know whether or not my guesses are right.
Thank you in advance for your help.

GPY · Accepted Answer

1. "freely-available" and "not for commercial use" both modify "FWTK" and are both adjectival.

2. The colon is correct. It introduces a list of purposes. A semicolon would not be right there.

Park sang joon · Answer

Thank you, GPY, for your very valuable answer.

I'd like to know whether there is by no means a chance that "not for commercial use" might be used as an adverbial phrase.

CalifJim · Answer

park sang joonI think "freely-available" modifies "FWTK"

Yes, it does.

park sang joonand "not for commercial use" is the inserted adverbial phrase.

No. It's an incomplete relative clause which also modifies 'FWTK'. [FWTK], which was not for commercial use.

park sang joonI think the colon before "to demonstrate" should have been a semicolon to play the role of "comma."

No. Strictly speaking that colon is not necessary at all.

The purposes were to demonstrate ..., to create ..., and to "raise the bar" ....

CJ

GPY · Answer

park sang joonI'd like to know whether there is by no means a chance that "not for commercial use" might be used as an adverbial phrase.

If it was adverbial, what do you think it would be modifying?

Park sang joon · Answer

I hope you understand me about my poor understanding.

I thought "not for commercial use" modifies the clause.

GPY · Answer

CalifJim Strictly speaking that colon is not necessary at all. The purposes were to demonstrate ..., to create ..., and to "raise the bar" ....

With commas only it is much harder to read, in my opinion:

The purposes for releasing the freely-available, not for commercial use, FWTK were to demonstrate, via the software, documentation, and methods used, how a company with (at the time) 11 years' experience in formal security methods, and individuals with firewall experience, developed firewall software, to create a common base of very good firewall software for others to build on (so people did not have to continue to "roll their own" from scratch), and to "raise the bar" of firewall software being used.

GPY · Answer

park sang joonI thought "not for commercial use" modifies the clause.

I don't see any way that it can be interpreted like that.

CalifJim · Answer

GPYmuch harder to read

Oh, yes. True. I was focused on the fact that the colon was unnecessary. I don't think it helps much.

CJ

The analyses of the convoluted text

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