X-Spam-Check-By: sourceware.org Date: Fri, 9 Dec 2005 11:03:20 -0500 From: Christopher Faylor To: cygwin@cygwin.com Subject: Re: mingw path/mount handling code (Was: Re: Practical method for automatic Cygwin install?) Message-ID: <20051209160320.GA10690@trixie.casa.cgf.cx> Reply-To: cygwin@cygwin.com References: <20051123035342.9E89913C1A1@cgf.cx> <20051123192106.GA757@trixie.casa.cgf.cx> <4384DF7D.142487C5@dessent.net> <20051123213551.GA2952@trixie.casa.cgf.cx> <4399A748.CA4107C7@dessent.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: <4399A748.CA4107C7@dessent.net> User-Agent: Mutt/1.5.11 Mailing-List: contact cygwin-help@cygwin.com; run by ezmlm Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: List-Subscribe: List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: , Sender: cygwin-owner@cygwin.com Mail-Followup-To: cygwin@cygwin.com Delivered-To: mailing list cygwin@cygwin.com On Fri, Dec 09, 2005 at 07:48:24AM -0800, Brian Dessent wrote: >Christopher Faylor wrote: > >> >FWIW, this idea of creating a mingw "libcygpath" really appeals to me >> >and it's been an idea I've been meaning to look at for a while. It >> >would be a library that knows how to read the mount table, and do basic >> >path conversions, without depending on cygwin1.dll. Then cygpath and >> >setup.exe could both statically link to this library, and it would be >> >available to other users as well. >> >> FWIW, Robert Collins and I talked about doing this years ago but it just >> suffered due to SHTDI. I think that path.cc in the utils directory >> should be a pretty good start towards a library for reading the mount >> table. It is what is used by strace.cc and cygcheck.cc. > >I've been thinking about this a little more. > >The way I see it, in a perfect world, this library would be BSD/MIT >licensed, or at the very least LGPL, so that "foreign" programs by 3PPs >could use it unencumbered, so that they can function better with Cygwin. > >However, winsup/utils/path.cc is under the Cygwin license. I don't >suppose there is any chance of getting Redhet to relicense parts of the >utils directory? It seems small enough that it could be reimplemented >without a lot of hassle, but it's still extra work. I think there is very small chance of that. IIRC, some of that code is straight out of the cygwin DLL itself. I think that anyone who had studied the cygwin path handling code would have a tough time proving that there was no "taintedness" if they tried to produce a library under a different license. cgf -- Unsubscribe info: http://cygwin.com/ml/#unsubscribe-simple Problem reports: http://cygwin.com/problems.html Documentation: http://cygwin.com/docs.html FAQ: http://cygwin.com/faq/