Re: Ada and licensing

[Maciej Sobczak <see.my.homepage@gmail.com>]

On 17 Wrz, 09:33, Tomek Wa kuski <tomek.walku...@gmail.com> wrote:

> 1. Can I use AdaCore's GNAT GPL compiler to produce propertiary
> software?

This is a good question and I will add some more twist to it.

GPL really affects the result of the combination of your software with
something that is already GPL. For example, if you use a GPL library
(like Ada RTL), your code has to be GPL.

But as many on this groups often stress, Ada is portable. That means,
it is not inherently coupled to anybody's runtime library.
If you write your program according to the standard (no GNAT
extensions used, etc.), then it is decoupled from any RTL. You can
*sell* the source code with some non-disclosure agreement and let
people compile it on their own. How they compile it and what they link
with is their business. You just sell the source code. Actually, you
don't even need yourself any Ada compiler to do that (a text editor
should be enough), although you might want to use some Ada compiler
just to check whether your source code is correct. But the bare fact
that you have *checked* your source code before selling it should not
have any impact on how you license it. You can sell/distribute/give
away/etc. the source code under *any* license you wish. It does not
have to be GPL.

Practical example: authors of Ada books distribute the source code for
their examples (most often in printed form, just inside the book, in
between the prose). Their programs don't have to be under GPL, no
matter what compiler they used for checking it before submitting the
book for printing.

Another example: code examples that you can find on this group are not
bound by GPL, even if their authors used GNAT GPL to *check* them
before posting.

In short: if you decide to distribute your software in the source
form, then you are not bound by any licenses. You can invent your own.

Note: distributing software in source form does *not* mean that it is
not proprietary.

--
Maciej Sobczak
http://www.msobczak.com/