[SciPy-Dev] [Numpy-discussion] Windows wheels using MKL?

[Matthew Brett]

Hi,

On Thu, Mar 27, 2014 at 12:10 PM, Matthew Brett <matthew.brett at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> On Thu, Mar 27, 2014 at 3:18 AM, Robert Kern <robert.kern at gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Thu, Mar 27, 2014 at 12:29 AM, Matthew Brett <matthew.brett at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> On Wed, Mar 26, 2014 at 4:48 PM, Matthew Brett <matthew.brett at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> Hi,
>>>>
>>>> Can I check what is stopping us building official numpy binary wheels
>>>> for Windows using the Intel Math Kernel Library?
>>>>
>>>> * We'd need developer licenses, but those sound like they would be
>>>> easy to come by
>>>> * We'd have to add something to the license for the wheel on the lines
>>>> of the Canopy license [1], derived from the MKL license [2] - is that
>>>> a problem?
>>>>
>>>> Are there other problems for numpy?
>>>
>>> Talking with Fernando, we identified these as being the key problem
>>> clauses in the MKL license [1]:
>>>
>>> <start quote>
>>> D. DISTRIBUTION: Distribution of the Redistributables is also subject
>>> to the following limitations:
>>> [snipped clauses]
>>>  (iv) shall use a license agreement
>>> that prohibits disassembly and reverse engineering of the
>>> Redistributables, (v) shall indemnify, hold
>>> harmless, and defend Intel and its suppliers from and against any
>>> claims or lawsuits, including
>>> attorney's fees, that arise or result from your distribution of any product.
>>> </end quote>
>>>
>>> The first is a problem that might conceivably be adequately solved by
>>> adding a paragraph to the Pypi page for numpy ("If you download and
>>> install the windows binaries, you also agree... ") and copying a new
>>> clause into the license in the installed tree.   Maybe.   The second
>>> looks like it would be very hard to deal with for open source project
>>> like us....
>>
>> It would be confusing to distribute these non-BSD wheels on the same
>> PyPI page that declares most prominently that numpy is BSD-licensed.
>> Adding some text elsewhere on the PyPI page is not going to help very
>> much: people look at the "License: BSD" first and foremost. Nothing
>> stops anyone else from building and distributing MKL-built binaries, a
>> la C. Gohlke, but I don't think it is wise to do so on the PyPI page.
>
> Can you see any circumstances in which we could use the MKL binaries from pypi?

Christoph - have you considered building binary wheels for the
projects you support?  If not, is there any help I / we can give?

Cheers,

Matthew