Hi, In response to questions from Brian and me, people from the IEEE VHDL working group recommended that we send an official request for permission to use the IEEE libraries.
I have prepared a draft email that we could send to [email protected]. Because I would make this request on behalf of the GHDL community, I think it is appropriate to show the text here and ask for comments before sending this to the IEEE. Please let me know if you think additions or improvements are necessary. Joris. ---- Draft email ---- Dear Sir/Madam, I would like to request permission to use supplemental materials for IEEE Std 1076 as part of the software package GHDL, an open-source implementation of the VHDL language [1]. GHDL [1] is a compiler for the VHDL language, developed by a group of volunteers as a non-profit, free software project. Although a volunteer effort, GHDL is certainly not a toy project. It aims to comply to every detail of IEEE Std 1076. GHDL is capable of analyzing large and complex VHDL projects and is used as a verification tool in the professional electronic design industry. [1] http://sourceforge.net/projects/ghdl-updates/ An essential aspect of the free software nature of GHDL is that its complete source code is freely available. This enables everybody to study the inner workings of a VHDL compiler. It also enables any software engineer to make further improvements to GHDL. IEEE Std 1076 specifies a number of standard library packages which are a fundamental part of the VHDL language. The IEEE provides reference implementations of these packages [2]. A natural way to ensure compliant support for these packages is to include the IEEE reference implementations as part of the GHDL source code. Unfortunately, the IEEE implementations are shipped with license conditions which do not make it clear whether the IEEE allows such use of these materials. [2] http://standards.ieee.org/downloads/1076/ Specifically, we are seeking permission to redistribute the following files: * the VHDL files under http://standards.ieee.org/downloads/1076/1076.2-1996/ * the VHDL files under http://standards.ieee.org/downloads/1076/1076-2008/1076-2008_machine-readable.zip * the VHDL files associated with IEEE Std 1076.4-1995 and IEEE Std 1076.4-2000. Because of the free software nature of GHDL, we would need to distribute the VHDL files as source code as well as compiled forms. Additionally, it should also be permitted for third parties to redistribute GHDL in its entirety, including the IEEE library files. Ideally, the files would be licensed under terms which are compatible with the GNU General Public License. When considering my request, I would ask that you please take into account: * that free distribution of these files is essential for the existence of any open-source implementation of the VHDL language; * that these files are already widely available on the internet; * that the GHDL community will not make profit from the use of these files. Thanks for your help in this matter, Joris van Rantwijk. _______________________________________________ Ghdl-discuss mailing list [email protected] https://mail.gna.org/listinfo/ghdl-discuss
