Rather than talk about hypothetical code I wrote when I was thinking of producing BSD licensed library, I may as well expose it:
http://sage.math.washington.edu/home/wbhart/mpir-bsd/ It has a magic makefile system such that if you drop files in, they just build automatically. Simply do make check to make it work (you have to edit the top level makefile to specify the location of MPIR and export LD_LIBRARY_PATH for MPIR and the top level source directory for this library). It is about the same speed as MPIR for multiplication up to about 100 limbs. Everywhere it was necessary to use assembly language, I just called MPIR, but these functions could be used in this library directly. Here's what I'd do if I were going to write a BSD library: For the first 6-12 months: * x86_64 only * linux, Windows and FreeBSD only * mpn layer only (what I've called nn) - the interface already exists, so work to it!! * no autotools * aim for performance within 20% of GMP/MPIR for everything up to 100 limbs * target PCC not GCC (a very clean and efficient BSD compiler which also works on Windows - trivial to port to Win64) * aim to have 5 regular committed contributors with 2 people able to manage releases by the end of 12 months * set up a donations system on the website with the aim of hiring contractors to address prespecified "bounties" * aim for the greatest possible simplicity of design, with performance a *secondary* goal * get the software architecture right from the start * very careful auditing of code for license, documentation and style (for the latter run it through indent) If it is judged a success at the 6 and 12 month stages, move the project forward and allow the goals to expand. Anyone interested? Bill. On 12 April 2010 14:57, Pierre Joye <pierre....@gmail.com> wrote: > hi Bill, > > Thanks for the extensive reply, very much appreciated. > > On Mon, Apr 12, 2010 at 1:55 PM, Bill Hart <goodwillh...@googlemail.com> > wrote: > > >> On 12 April 2010 11:18, Pierre Joye <pierre....@gmail.com> wrote: > >> The main appeal is that we can use code from GMP without replicating >> their efforts and accept code from developers who want to license >> their code v3+. It basically means less effort for us, and faster >> development times. It means that the bignum community is using a >> single license and is less fragmented. > > It makes sense, however I wonder if it is good for mpir users. But it > makes the work easier for mpir developers, that's a sure thing. > > I will have to split my reply as it is a rather large topic. > >> By "not compatible with the GPL", I assume you mean that you want to >> distribute PHP under terms that are more permissive than the GPL will >> allow. > > The GPL does not allow any GPL code to be linked with PHP Licensed > code, at least this restriction up to v2. For v3 there is a debate > about "linkage" and "usage" as in using GPL code in an external > process (calling a cmd line tool for example). But the whole v3 move > (gpl and lgpl) creates a lot of troubles lately for companies and > other OSS projects. The "or later" clause has also been ignored in the > past, but the v3 shows the implications and the direction the gpl > license takes is scary (no offense meant, only writing down my feeling > about the GPL movement for the last decade). > > Short reply but other will come in the next days :) > > Cheers, > -- > Pierre > > @pierrejoye | http://blog.thepimp.net | http://www.libgd.org > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "mpir-devel" group. > To post to this group, send email to mpir-de...@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > mpir-devel+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/mpir-devel?hl=en. > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "mpir-devel" group. To post to this group, send email to mpir-de...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to mpir-devel+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/mpir-devel?hl=en.
