Re: [Tinycc-devel] modern c++ compiler written in C

[u-tcc-uepj]

Hello Christian,

On Thu, May 14, 2015 at 07:33:21AM +0200, Christian Jullien wrote:
> I really would like to have a cfront working with TCC, but remember that we
> are allowed the use of this archive for research only.
> As such, I prefer you do your work out of this mailing list and, if you have
> to modify tcc to support cfront, please do so without ANY reference to
> cfront.
> I would not like so see an action against tcc because of this.

I guess an action could be against actual use of cfront, like if we'd
build tcc with it (hope not :) or include pieces of cfront code into tcc.

Using tcc together with cfront is not any offence, as long this is
for historical research, which is the discretion of the actual user,
not of the tcc project. It is good to make the research easier, isn't it?

What can the project otherwise be accused of?

> The other solution is to get the right from cfront owner to port this
> archive to tcc. I doubt it will be easy.

As far as I can see, there does not exist any material interest
behind the current cfront license, it is just the way it is, historically.

Nobody at AT&T makes any plans about cfront or estimates its possible
marketing value because they abandoned it long ago and the reestimation
would cost more by itself than any possible gain.

This means that getting the license changed is hardly feasible unless
you know a suitable key person at AT&T.

The means also that the tcc project (which hardly has any money behind it)
would not be sued either - this would harm AT&Ts look and would not be
able to cover the expenses in any case.

> Christian
> 
> P.S. except for the fun, who really cares about C++ that old?

Here you contradict yourself :) Fun in this situation is indistinguishable
from research, so it is perfectly OK, unless somebody indeed cares
about cfront for some practical use.

cfront is either meaningless-and-safe or useful-and-uncertain :)

Rune