Re: [DotGNU]Licence question about GNU and GCC

[Norbert Bollow]

James Michael DuPont <address@hidden> wrote:

> It seems to me that one possible step will be to make
> the AST interface as a SOAP service, and to link that
> directly into the gcc when it is running, or to a
> repository after the compile is done. 
> 
> This could be a problem becuase it would allow for
> non-gpled code to use the gcc as a front or a back
> end.

Yes... if the interface code itself is GPL'd, then there is
nothing in the GPL that forbids this.  I think that this is in
principle the same situation as having any program (potentially
a proprietary program) which emits C code that is meant to be
processed by gcc.

So my answer is:  You are free to do this, but I would request
that you please reconsider it, because anything which has the
effect of weakening in effect the copyleft nature of gcc's
licensing is not likely to make the world a better place.

> How does the licencing of the DOT GNU cover this.

We use the GNU GPL, knowing that it gives the user a *lot* of
freedoms, including freedom to do some things that we wouldn't
like to happen.

Greetings, Norbert.

-- 
A founder of the http://DotGNU.org project and Steering Committee member
Norbert Bollow, Weidlistr.18, CH-8624 Gruet   (near Zurich, Switzerland)
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