Re: GNAT GPL is not shareware

[Simon Wright <simon@pushface.org>]

Jeffrey Carter <spam.jrcarter.not@spam.not.acm.org> writes:

> On 01/30/2015 10:34 AM, Simon Wright wrote:
>> 
>> I don't believe there are any language-defined units that GNAT
>> doesn't implement as Ada source in the RTS? so it's the licensing
>> terms on the RTS you actually build against that matters?
>
> I somehow doubt that Ada.Containers.Hashed_Maps is part of the
> RTL. It's a generic pkg that exists only as source. If that source
> lacks the exception, and you "with" it, then your code must be GPL,
> regardless of the RTL the compiler links in.

In GNAT, an RTS is a directory containing adainclude/ (all the RTS
source) and adalib/ (all the corresponding .ali files, and binary
libraries: either static or dynamic (perhaps both)).

Ada.Containers.Hashed_Maps is in files a-cohama.ad[bs], and the version
here in the GNAT GPL library has had the run time exception removed;
whereas the one in the FSF GCC library still has it.

I see no reason in principle why one shouldn't compile the FSF version
with the GPL compiler. A lot of work for no benefit.

I can't at the moment include Ada.Containers.* in my STM32F4 RTS,
because I don't support memory allocation, and AdaCore don't include any
Containers in their Ravenscar RTSs for the same board, and I only have
192K of RAM to play with! but if I did, I'd use the FSF version.