Re: Possible C parsing speedup?

[Stan Shebs <shebs at apple dot com>]

David Young wrote:
> 
> To my best observations, Apple now distributes gcc (egcs) under
> non-disclosure agreement and via this link:
> 
> http://www.publicsource.apple.com/projects/
> 
> which states:
> 
> Welcome to the Apple open source projects page. This page includes links to
> projects that have been released under the Apple Public Source License. By
> accessing this source, you are affirming that you have read and accepted the
> terms of that license.

I think the source of this confusion is the phrase "includes links to".
The page includes links to APSL-licensed projects, such as the kernel,
but it also includes links to many other projects.  The wording is simply
sloppy, and I've already notified the people responsible for the Darwin
web pages.

> A link on that page accesses:
> 
> http://www.publicsource.apple.com/projects/darwin/projects.html
> 
> which shows egcs as such a project (and hence subject to APSL).

This page doesn't actually state the licensing terms for any of the projects,
but it includes perl, tcl, patch, gcc, gdb, fetchmail, ntp, and many other
programs, so it's safe to assume that there is going to be quite a variety
of licenses.  But the page should say so anyway.

> The APSL license states:
> 
> "11. Ownership. Apple retains all rights, title and interest in and to the
> Original Code and any Modifications made by or on behalf of Apple ("Apple
> Modifications"), and such Apple Modifications will not be automatically
> subject to this License"
> 
> Which to me means that if I participate, then the code is totally under
> Apple's jurisdiction, with no appeal (note the phrase "will not be
> automatically", which means simply that Apple can do whatever it wants with
> it, Apple owns it outright.)

All of the GPLed projects are still GPLed - the actual source files, which
are what really matters here, not a web page - still have the usual FSF
copyright notice and disclaimer.  The Apple-added backend files (such as
gcc/config/rs6000/macosx.h) say "Copyright Apple" with no further qualification.
No rational person would suggest that these will ever be anything but GPL,
but I'll go ahead and add the GPL notice anyhow, just to make things clear.

> Through various routes I've been told that Apple legal will change this and
> that it is some sort of ... oversight?

Definitely an oversight!

> Do you know when Apple will be changing this situation? and when Apple will
> not distribute (its version of) egcs under NDA?
> 
> I'd like to participate, but ... well ... I'm sort of confused.

I poked the right people here, and if I don't get a response soon, I'll go and
stand in their offices.  There shouldn't be any doubt that Apple will handle
GPLed software correctly.

Stan