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Mail Archives: djgpp/1994/07/11/09:14:37

From: aml AT world DOT std DOT com (Andrew M. Langmead)
Subject: Re: libgpl, LGPL, and DJGPP license [was: iostream unresolved externals]
To: djgpp AT sun DOT soe DOT clarkson DOT edu
Date: Mon, 11 Jul 1994 08:19:08 -0400 (EDT)

> As long as I'm on the subject, please remember that, according to the
> docs that come with DJGPP, including a Bison parser in your program
> automatically makes it subject to the GPL.  The docs predate the LGPL,
> I believe, so that this *may* be a way to dodge GPL-ing your whole
> program if it includes a Bison parser.  (Of course, if the important
> proprietary information is the Bison grammar itself, you're hosed.)

Bison is still under the GPL, not the LGPL. Since I've seen quotes in
gnu.misc.discuss that have said that the FSF feel that the LGPL was an
experiment that failed, (giving proprietary software developers access
to certain pieces of free software did not encourage the use of free
software.) not only do I doubt that you will see new software fall
under the LGPL, I don't think that they will convert any of their
existing GPL licenses to the LGPL.

For people looking to use a yacc parser in their software, but don't
want to deal with the GPL, I'd suggest looking at porting Berkeley
yacc to DOS+DJGPP. The source code generated by their yacc does not
have the license restriction that bison does.


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