Re: Runtime versions (GPL vs Modified GPL)

[anon@anon.org (anon)]

Learn to read English!!! The original poster want to know about the 
LINUX and Windows version GNAT not about other version or the 
others vendors. 

A special note. The Debian maintainer "Ludovic Brenta" has stated in 
this newsgroup and other web sites that there are problem with GNAT 
Ada packages  that are stored at Debian. He said GNAT is not even 
Ada any more and has not been in a long time. That's a REAL big 
problem, so, using any version of Ada from Debian may be in error or 
illegal! Also to get the GMGPL run-time you must use GNAT PRO and 
only GNAT PRO the Linux and Windows version have never had the GMGPL 
RTL and never will legally.  Which mean it better, not to reference 
Debian's version of Ada.

Note: Sorry "Ludovic Brenta", but you did post the concept in a 
number of places.

Also, the way some of you guy talk Debian is you think it GOD.  It 
is NOT! It is just one of many versions of LINUX and contains a large 
archive of versions of packages for Linux. GNAT Ada is only one of 
many packages that are use by Debian and has been archived there. 
Plus, take a couple of minutes and do a search you will find a lot 
versions of GNAT Ada. And none of those packages have to do with 
Debian or its archives.

As for Copyright! Yes, Adacore may have passed the Copyright to FSF but  
Adacore still owns the "Intellectual Property" rights of GNAT Ada which 
is a larger issue.   And the group that owns the "Intellectual Property" 
sets the rights for what type of license the copyright owner can give the 
software and how the software should be used. For that, that group is 
Adacore, not FSF or Debian. Adacore decided a long time ago to set the 
license for GNAT academic and GNAT GPL for LINUX and Windows 
and other OS to GPL which at the time was version 2 and they have stated 
that all binaries created with either the academic or GPL will be under 
the GPL or GPL compatable as stated on the Adacore web site.  Only the 
GNAT PRO version can create a non-compatable GPL binary program! 


Also the "special exception" clause is added only on the GNU GCC 
compiled packages. The Adacore source and binary GPL version on 
Adacore web site does not contain the "special exception" clause.


Repeating this for others:
To get the GMGPL run-time you must use GNAT PRO and only GNAT PRO 
the Linux and Windows version have never had the GMGPL RTL and never 
will legally. Unless Adacore changes it policy!

In <8763tczga0.fsf@willow.rfc1149.net>, Samuel Tardieu <sam@rfc1149.net> writes:
>>>>>> "anon" == anon  <anon@anon.org> writes:
>
>anon> The "special exception" clause allows the programmer to use GNAT
>anon> acadamic or GPL to develope the software under a compatable GPL
>anon> license or the LGPL which is still apart of the GPL license
>anon> structure.  Or they can develope the software using GNAT and
>anon> then use GNAT PRO, Green hil, etc. Ada to compile the release
>anon> binary version under another license.
>
>The first quoted sentence makes little sense: while you are developing
>the software, you do not need to put any license on your code; you
>only need a license when you are *distributing* your program to
>others. Any version of GNAT lets you use the compiler for anything you
>want as long as you do not distribute the compiled binary (and
>circulation of the binary within a company is not considered as
>distributing it).
>
>Then, *if* and *when* you want do distribute a compiled version of
>your program, you need to choose a license that will apply to this
>particular distribution. When it comes to the choice of an Ada
>compiler, you have the following alternatives to produce the
>distributed executable:
>
>  - GNAT as obtained from the FSF (which is the copyright owner and
>    thus decides under what license it is released) contains the
>    "special exception". For example, GNAT as found in Debian has been
>    obtained through the FSF and Debian chose to retain this "special
>    exception"; you can choose any license you want for the
>    distribution of your program, including a proprietary one, and you
>    do not have to distribute the source if you do not wish to do so.
>
>  - GNAT Pro as distributed by AdaCore also retains this "special
>    exception", as the Debian version does. This allows you to choose
>    any license you want for your program.
>
>  - GNAT GPL and GNAT Academic as distributed by AdaCore do *not*
>    contain the "special exception". This is a choice made by AdaCore,
>    as anyone is free to drop this exception at any time when
>    redistributing GNAT (and the recipient cannot re-add it unless he
>    is the copyright owner). They chose to make these version of GNAT
>    and its associated runtime files a GPL only program. In this case,
>    and only in this case, you may only distribute your program under
>    a GPL compatible license as it has been linked with the GPL-only
>    version of the Ada runtime, which also means that you have to
>    make the sources available under this license.
>
>  - If you use GNAT obtained from another source than the ones cited
>    above, you need to check whether all the distributors up the chain
>    (the chain starts at the FSF and ends at you) chose to retain the
>    "special exception" or if anyone in the middle chose to drop it.
>
>  - You may use a compiler other than GNAT, in which case you have to
>    check the license of this compiler to determine what it allows and
>    what it forbids. For example, a compiler license may ask that you
>    pay royalties on the programs you sell, while another lets you do
>    whatever you want.
>
> Sam
>-- 
>Samuel Tardieu -- sam@rfc1149.net -- http://www.rfc1149.net/