Re: Licensing Paranoia and Manual Compilation Issues

[Simon Wright <simon@pushface.org>]

alexander@junivörs.com writes:

> Perhaps I've misunderstood something regarding the licensing
> situation. Is not the reason you cannot use a bunch of AdaCore
> developed packages due to the fact that it's licensed under GPL
> without the runtime library exception, ultimately meaning your
> executable must be licensed under GPL too?

> In the second situation, I'm speaking of any library package offering
> nigh on essential functionality to a programming language (in this
> case Ada), that does not contain the runtime library exception. I
> believe that all code developed to ship with a compiler should contain
> that exception.

AdaCore provide software to their customers with the runtime library
exception. When they make a CE release, they run a tool over all the
sources which removes the exception (you'll see this by the blank
section in the middle of the header comments).

This is their business, their choice.

The FSF source tree (compiler, runtime, tools) contains the exception.

It used to be that you could only get additional package sources
(GNATColl etc) via the CE releases. Nowadays, many of these packages are
available via Github, and most (all?) have the runtime library exception
included.

Some, such as ASIS, are still only available via the CE route.

> Whilst quickly scouring the Internet for some information that would
> substantiate the claim that some library package files do not contain
> the runtime library exception, I came across the (`GNAT.Regpat`
> source)[1], which does contain some form of the runtime library
> exception.
>
> I presume perhaps that is an older source file than the one shipped
> with the compiler at this day (Copyright (c) 1996-2002)?
>
> [1] https://www2.adacore.com/gap-static/GNAT_Book/html/rts/g-regpat__adb.htm

I've not had access to GAP but maybe the sources would have had the same
bowdlerisation as CE. Anyway, that set of pages was made in 2004, and
the current state of g-regpat.adb in CE/FSF is as I stated above.