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From: gore@eecs.nwu.edu (Jacob Gore)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: Re: GNU software rights (was Re: general class definitions)
Message-ID: <8180013@eecs.nwu.edu>
Date: 30 Jul 88 03:04:51 GMT
References: <24158@bu-cs.BU.EDU>
Organization: Northwestern U, Evanston IL, USA
Lines: 25

/ comp.lang.c++ / tower@bu-cs.BU.EDU (Leonard H. Tower Jr.) / Jul 29, 1988 /
>In article <6590058@hplsla.HP.COM> glenne@hplsla.HP.COM (Glenn Engel) writes:
>>  ... This will require you to offer for copying
>>  costs, all your source code.  I would like to see this restriction
>>  removed from libg++ so that it indeed will grow and grOW and GROW to
>>  be usable by everyone.
>...
>...  This restriction will not be lifted.  Even so, the software
>will grow and grow and grow, and will be usable by everyone who wishes
>to freely share software.
>
>Note that this will prevent several distinct proprietary variations from
>appearing, with no easy legal way to combine the best features of each.

But there is a solution in between:
	* apply the GNU license to libg++, so if somebody enhances it, the 
	  enhanced version is still free
	* remove the restriction from the software that is linked together
	  with libg++

I think this approach would increase the use of the GNU compilers, and thus
expose many more people to the GNU philosophy. 

Jacob Gore				Gore@EECS.NWU.Edu
Northwestern Univ., EECS Dept.		{oddjob,gargoyle,att}!nucsrl!gore