Question about proprietary software development using GNU C++

[W.K.]

Hello,

I have a question about using GNU C++ proprietary software
development, is this possible or against the GNU license? Any good
commercial cross platform complier recommendation ?

Thanks,
W.K.

[tony_in_da_uk]

On Aug 6, 1:30 pm, "W.K." <[e-mail]:

I have a question about using GNU C++ proprietary software
development, is this possible or against the GNU license? Any good
commercial cross platform complier recommendation ?

It's possible. The GNU compiler is - in my opinion - a fine choice.
Not much point talking about cross platform without listing your
platforms.

Tony

[James Kanze]

On Aug 6, 6:30 am, "W.K." <[e-mail]:

I have a question about using GNU C++ proprietary software
development, is this possible or against the GNU license?

It's hard to say. Code generated by the compiler (as a result
of compiling your own code) is not covered by the GPL, so
there's no problem there. The g++ library is covered by the
LGPL, and not the GPL, so code you link into your application
from the library doesn't taint your application. Incorporating
source code from the library would, however, and at least at one
point, there was some question concerning what this meant with
regards to templates. You might want to have your company
lawyers check this out.

Any good
commercial cross platform complier recommendation ?

G++ is an excellent compiler. Comeau's even better, but it
depends on g++ for the back end. (Using Comeau with the
Dinkumware library would avoid any questions concerning the
library, and is probably the best compiler/library combination
around as well.)

--
James Kanze (GABI Software) email:ja*********@gmail.com
Conseils en informatique orientée objet/
Beratung in objektorientierter Datenverarbeitung
9 place Sémard, 78210 St.-Cyr-l'École, France, [phone]

[=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Erik_Wikstr=F6m?=]

On 2007-08-06 11:27, James Kanze wrote:

On Aug 6, 6:30 am, "W.K." <[e-mail]:

>I have a question about using GNU C++ proprietary software
development, is this possible or against the GNU license?

It's hard to say. Code generated by the compiler (as a result
of compiling your own code) is not covered by the GPL, so
there's no problem there. The g++ library is covered by the
LGPL, and not the GPL, so code you link into your application
from the library doesn't taint your application. Incorporating
source code from the library would, however, and at least at one
point, there was some question concerning what this meant with
regards to templates. You might want to have your company
lawyers check this out.

I remember reading somewhere recently that the library was GPL (but I'm
not 100% sure, could have been LGPL) with an additional clause to
prevent the usage of templates from contaminating your code, so there
should be no problem there.

--
Erik Wikström

[BobR]

W.K. <go*********@126.comwrote in message...

Hello,
I have a question about using GNU C++ proprietary software
development, is this possible or against the GNU license? Any good
commercial cross platform complier recommendation ?
Thanks, W.K.

www.gnu.org explains all.

--
Bob R
POVrookie

[Victor Bazarov]

BobR wrote:

W.K. <go*********@126.comwrote in message...

>Hello,
I have a question about using GNU C++ proprietary software
development, is this possible or against the GNU license? Any good
commercial cross platform complier recommendation ?

W.K.,

Try Intel C/C++

>Thanks, W.K.

www.gnu.org explains all.

Second that.

V
--
Please remove capital 'A's when replying by e-mail
I do not respond to top-posted replies, please don't ask

[James Kanze]

On Aug 6, 11:37 am, Erik Wikström <[e-mail]:

On 2007-08-06 11:27, James Kanze wrote:

On Aug 6, 6:30 am, "W.K." <[e-mail]:

I have a question about using GNU C++ proprietary software
development, is this possible or against the GNU license?

It's hard to say. Code generated by the compiler (as a result
of compiling your own code) is not covered by the GPL, so
there's no problem there. The g++ library is covered by the
LGPL, and not the GPL, so code you link into your application
from the library doesn't taint your application. Incorporating
source code from the library would, however, and at least at one
point, there was some question concerning what this meant with
regards to templates. You might want to have your company
lawyers check this out.

I remember reading somewhere recently that the library was GPL (but I'm
not 100% sure, could have been LGPL) with an additional clause to
prevent the usage of templates from contaminating your code, so there
should be no problem there.

If it were GPL, even linking against it would contaminate the code.

I'm pretty sure that the authors of the C++ library for g++
don't want the use of templates to contaminate the code either.
But it's a situation which wasn't originally forseen in the
LGPL. I don't think there'd be a problem, but that's because I
trust the good faith of the people managing g++, and not because
I'm sure concerning any legal guarantees.

--
James Kanze (GABI Software) email:james.kanze:gmail.com
Conseils en informatique orientée objet/
Beratung in objektorientierter Datenverarbeitung
9 place Sémard, 78210 St.-Cyr-l'École, France, [phone]

[Greg Herlihy]

On Aug 5, 9:30 pm, "W.K." <[e-mail]:

Hello,

I have a question about using GNU C++ proprietary software
development, is this possible or against the GNU license? Any good
commercial cross platform complier recommendation ?

The only software company that I know for a fact that compiles
commercial software with GNU's g++ compiler is an outfit called
"Microsoft". They have a new version of a product they call "Office
for Mac" (which is actually not one application, but five: Excel,
PowerPoint, Word, Entourage and Messenger) each one written in C or C+
+ and each one compiled with the GNU gcc/g++ compiler on OS X.

Of course that's just one software company, so I would reach any
conclusion from my example. After all, it could be that no one in that
company has ever heard of the GNU license - or it could be that there
are no lawyers working for that company.

Greg

[fracassi]

On Aug 6, 11:13 pm, James Kanze <[e-mail]:

On Aug 6, 11:37 am, Erik Wikström <[e-mail]:

On 2007-08-06 11:27, James Kanze wrote:

On Aug 6, 6:30 am, "W.K." <[e-mail]:
>I have a question about using GNU C++ proprietary software
>development, is this possible or against the GNU license?
It's hard to say. Code generated by the compiler (as a result
of compiling your own code) is not covered by the GPL, so
there's no problem there. The g++ library is covered by the
LGPL, and not the GPL, so code you link into your application
from the library doesn't taint your application. Incorporating
source code from the library would, however, and at least at one
point, there was some question concerning what this meant with
regards to templates. You might want to have your company
lawyers check this out.

I remember reading somewhere recently that the library was GPL (but I'm
not 100% sure, could have been LGPL) with an additional clause to
prevent the usage of templates from contaminating your code, so there
should be no problem there.

If it were GPL, even linking against it would contaminate the code.

I'm pretty sure that the authors of the C++ library for g++
don't want the use of templates to contaminate the code either.
But it's a situation which wasn't originally forseen in the
LGPL.

It wasn't. Thats why the libstdc++ (gcc implementation of the C++
standard lib) is neither GPL nor LGPL but "GPL with 'runtime-
exception' ". See http://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/libstd...o/license.html
for details but I think the following FAQ item from that page sums it
up nicely:

Q: So any program which uses libstdc++ falls under the GPL?
A: No. The special exception permits use of the library in proprietary
applications.

HTH

Fabio

[joe]

Out of curiousity, why hasn't this topic gotten the short and to the
point "This is off topic here" answer that other compiler specific
questions have gotten?

joe

[James Kanze]

On Aug 7, 5:33 pm, joe <[e-mail]:

Out of curiousity, why hasn't this topic gotten the short and to the
point "This is off topic here" answer that other compiler specific
questions have gotten?

Who knows? Maybe the web police have a soft spot in their
hearts for g++. (A bit hypocritical of them, of course.)

Anyway, about all you can do for such answers when they occur is
to ignore them. Especially as I find that about half the time,
they're wrong anyway; the subject is on topic, it's just that
the person complaining hasn't understood it.

(Note too that there is a polite way and an impolite way to
indicate non-topicality. If someone does ask a precise question
about a Windows or a Unix API, you're probably helping them if
you politely point to a more appropriate group, because they'll
find more Windows or Unix expertise there than here. But
there's no need for the tone of such a posting to imply that the
poster was intentionally abusing news.)

--
James Kanze (GABI Software) email:ja*********@gmail.com
Conseils en informatique orientée objet/
Beratung in objektorientierter Datenverarbeitung
9 place Sémard, 78210 St.-Cyr-l'École, France, [phone]

[James Kanze]

On Aug 7, 9:58 am, Greg Herlihy <[e-mail]:

On Aug 5, 9:30 pm, "W.K." <[e-mail]:

I have a question about using GNU C++ proprietary software
development, is this possible or against the GNU license? Any good
commercial cross platform complier recommendation ?

The only software company that I know for a fact that compiles
commercial software with GNU's g++ compiler is an outfit called
"Microsoft". They have a new version of a product they call "Office
for Mac" (which is actually not one application, but five: Excel,
PowerPoint, Word, Entourage and Messenger) each one written in C or C+
+ and each one compiled with the GNU gcc/g++ compiler on OS X.

That's an interesting point, because of course, Apple itself
uses g++ internally; it's their "official" compiler. I suspect
that most commercial applications for Apple or for Linux use
g++.

Of course, that doesn't prove anything concerning what the
license actually says. There are two possible situations: it is
OK (which I'm actually pretty sure is the case), or they've just
gotten away with it until now.

Of course that's just one software company, so I would reach any
conclusion from my example. After all, it could be that no one in that
company has ever heard of the GNU license - or it could be that there
are no lawyers working for that company.

Or that they have large enough pockets to make the legal
proceding draw out until their opponents give up:-).

As it is:

-- Another poster has pointed out that there is a special
exception to the GPL for the g++ library, to ensure that
code doesn't accidentally become tainted, so there should be
no problem.

-- Even without knowing about this exception, I felt
sufficiently sure concerning the intent of the people
involved with g++ to feel safe using it in commercial
applications.

-- But neither the other poster nor myself are your company's
lawyers, and they are the ones you have to convince:-(.

--
James Kanze (GABI Software) email:ja*********@gmail.com
Conseils en informatique orientée objet/
Beratung in objektorientierter Datenverarbeitung
9 place Sémard, 78210 St.-Cyr-l'École, France, [phone]