Re: [Mingw-users] A Mingw32 runtime library independent of MSVCRT.DLL

[Luke D. <cod...@ho...>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Oscar Fuentes" <of...@wa...>
To: <min...@li...>; <ste...@ya...>
Sent: Tuesday, July 30, 2002 12:26 AM
Subject: Re: [Mingw-users] A Mingw32 runtime library independent of
MSVCRT.DLL


> Steven Edwards <ste...@ya...> writes:
>
> > I would suggest that you guys take a look at the ReactOS
> > MSVCRT,CRTDLL and psx subsystem.
>
> Guess that you need to "replicate" the functionality of those
> libraries, bugs and nuisances included, or risk serious compatibility
> problems. Having a "clean" C RTL is one of the motivations for doing a
> new implementation. Obviously, using your MSVCRT would not provide
> that.

The ReactOS version of MSVCRT.DLL would probably need to exactly imitate the
MS version, but perhaps Steven was suggesting that it could still be used as
a basis for a new alternate C runtime. I believe the main point is to reuse
code rather than reinventing it.

>
> [snip]
>
> > I have not read anything about your licensing so we might not be
> > able to work together. ReactOS is GPL and always will be.
>
> AFAIK, MinGW born precisely for avoiding cygwin.dll and it's GPL
> virus...
>
> --
> Oscar

Even a GPL library would be useful to many users, but remember that Linux is
GPL too so it may be possible to use a ReactOS C runtime in non-GPL code:

"The source code for a work means the preferred form of the work for
making modifications to it.  For an executable work, complete source
code means all the source code for all modules it contains, plus any
associated interface definition files, plus the scripts used to
control compilation and installation of the executable.  However, as a
special exception, the source code distributed need not include
anything that is normally distributed (in either source or binary
form) with the major components (compiler, kernel, and so on) of the
operating system on which the executable runs, unless that component
itself accompanies the executable."

So if ReactOS provided static libraries or the DLLs for users to download
(including but not limited to MSVCRT), non-GPL applications could still link
with these "major components of the OS" that are licensed under the GPL.
Then again, I am far from an expert in these matters, and maybe this
exception doesn't apply unless you are using the ReactOS C RTL with the
ReactOS operating system itself (as opposed to MS Windows).

Luke Dunstan