On Mon, Oct 18, 2004 at 07:51:00PM +0200, Josselin Mouette wrote:
> Le lundi 18 octobre 2004 à 19:22 +0200, Wesley W. Terpstra a écrit :
> > So, when it comes time to release this and include it in a .deb, I ask
> > myself: what would happen if I included (with the C source and ocaml
> > compiler) some precompiled object files for i386? As long as the build
> > target is i386, these object files could be linked in instead of using
> > gcc to produce (slower) object files. This would mean a 2* speedup for
> > users, which is vital in order to reach line-speed. Other platforms
> > recompile as normal.
> >
> > On the other hand, is this still open source?
> > Is this allowed by policy?
> > Can this go into main?
>
> Main must be built with only packages from main.
No, that's not true.
In addition, the packages in _main_
* must not require a package outside of _main_ for compilation or
execution (thus, the package must not declare a "Depends",
"Recommends", or "Build-Depends" relationship on a non-_main_
package),
There's a difference, which is crucial. ICC may not be Free Software,
policy does not say you must only use Free Software to build a package;
it says you must not /require/ a package outside main to build it.
The difference is subtle, but crucial.
Wesley's software can be built using software in main. It will not be as
fast, but it will still do its job, flawlessly, without loss of
features, with the ability to modify the software to better meet one's
needs if so required.
> If you really want to distribute a package built with icc, you should
> make a separate package in the contrib section, and have it conflict
> with the package in main.
That's also possible, of course, but not required IMO.
> The GPL doesn't restrict anything you are describing, as long as the
> source is available alongside.
Nor does Policy.
--
EARTH
smog | bricks
AIR -- mud -- FIRE
soda water | tequila
WATER
-- with thanks to fortune
Attachment:
signature.asc
Description: Digital signature