[C++-sig] Re: todo.txt "Implement type_info streaming for GCC"

[Raoul Gough]

David Abrahams <dave at boost-consulting.com> writes:

> Raoul Gough <RaoulGough at yahoo.co.uk> writes:
>
>> David Abrahams <dave at boost-consulting.com> writes:
>>
>>> Of course, we still have the GPL problem if we link to that :(
>>
>> I don't get it - would you be releasing binaries which include
>> __cxa_demangle but no other (L)GPL'd code? I mean, if the binary came
>> out of g++ then you've probably got LGPL'd libstdc++ code already.
>
> What about MinGW?

Not sure what you mean - I was already thinking about MinGW :-) Well,
seriously, I mostly use the MinGW version of g++, so my comment
inherently comes from within that context. As I understand it
(although I'm no (L)GPL expert) I can freely redistribute binaries
that include libstdc++ in compiled form.

Contrast this with cygwin1.dll which is covered by the full GPL, so
binaries that use it import the GPL onto all sources for the binary
(obviously not desirable for Boost). This is certainly something to be
aware of if you're distributing binaries at all.

Actually, now that I look at some libstdc++ sources, they seem to be
covered by the normal GPL but with a special exemption along the lines
"...this file does not by itself cause the resulting executable to be
covered by the GNU General Public License...".

Oh, wait a second - here's some possibly relevant info from
cp-demangle.c (which contains __cxa_demangle):

   In addition to the permissions in the GNU General Public License, the
   Free Software Foundation gives you unlimited permission to link the
   compiled version of this file into combinations with other programs,
   and to distribute those combinations without any restriction coming
   from the use of this file.  (The General Public License restrictions
   do apply in other respects; for example, they cover modification of
   the file, and distribution when not linked into a combined
   executable.)

I didn't think that you would be distributing any binaries,
anyway. Now, cutting and pasting the demangler code, that would be a
different story :-)

-- 
Raoul Gough
"Let there be one measure for wine throughout our kingdom, and one
measure for ale, and one measure for corn" - Magna Carta