On Sat, Dec 03, 2005 at 02:19:15PM -0500, Geir Magnusson Jr. wrote: > > On Dec 3, 2005, at 12:01 PM, Dalibor Topic wrote: > > > > >I'd like to see the ASF allow use of code under the GPL+linking > >exception > >as well, as that is necessary for the Apache httpd builds made > >using gcc that are > >distributed from Apache.org anyway, and would allow us to ship gcc- > >compiled > >binaries of Harmony. Someone tell the httpd guys to raise it at > >legal-discuss. > > > > > Why do you say that? Before we go down a rathole discussing this, > what do you mean?
C compilers in general have a small bit of common startup code used by all applications compiled alike. When you compile int main() { printf("Hello world\n"); return 0; } with any compiler, there is a small amount of things that need to happen before main is executed at all, and those things are usually the same for any application, it's pretty generic startup code that ends up being copied into each compiled executable by the C compiler. With gcc, the startup code for darwin (OS X), can be found under gcc/config/darwin-crt2.c for example. As you can see on the Apple site for XCode 2.1, the license of the OS X gcc startup code is GPL+linking exception. I've posted a link in a previous post in this thread. As you can see in the file in gcc's source code, the license for the darwin startup code is indeed the GPL with a special exception for linking: " In addition to the permissions in the GNU General Public License, the Free Software Foundation gives you unlimited permission to link the compiled version of this file into combinations with other programs, and to distribute those combinations without any restriction coming from the use of this file. (The General Public License restrictions do apply in other respects; for example, they cover modification of the file, and distribution when not linked into a combine executable.) " The exception is there by design, to make sure that people using gcc to compile their code can distribute their binaries freely, without FSF's gcc startup code's license imposing *any restriction* on their license choice, even if FSF's startup code ends up being incorporated in the compiled binary, which it usually does, as dumping the Apache httpd OS X binaries and looking for OS X gcc startup code could show. Under the assumption that some of the Apache httpd binaries distributed from Apache.org were compiled with gcc, they would have to use FSF's code licensed under GPL+linking exception as the embedded startup code. That's perfectly fine, and precisely what the GPL+linking exception is designed for, so pointing that out to whoever has reservations regarding any use of code under GPL+linking exception might be fruitful to get the board approval for that license type as well, since (under the assumption that the ASF has shipped gcc compiled binaries) using the GPL+linking exception licensed (startup) code has been fine for as long as the ASF has shipped gcc compiled httpd binaries. Once the GPL+linking exception type of licenses is deemed acceptable, we could make sure that the text of the linking exception in GNU Classpath matches Apache Harmony's needs as well as the text of the linking exception used by gcc matches the needs of various operating system vendors who use gcc as their preferred compiler toolchain of choice ;) This is a potential hack to fasttrack the GPL+linking exception type of licenses through the board, of course, since we'd be able to point to httpd (or any other C project on Apache.org shipping gcc compiled binaries) for a precedent of happy use of GPL+linking exception licensed code. cheers, dalibor topic > -- > Geir Magnusson Jr +1-203-665-6437 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >