Originally posted by krainick
View Post
LLVM is a portable compiler suite. Uses front-ends to understand various languages as sources and compiles them to a virtual machine target, then uses back-ends to dynamic final-compile data, targeting a specific instruction set. This portability will come to all survive compiler suites on the future, including a GPL suit like a GCC6 (metaphor). Now if i want to write an extension for LLVM, i will do it under GPL in order to use it with a future GPL portable compiler suite. For example if i have a new software rasterizer that can use GPU shaders and CPUs at the same time, i will make it GPL even if it is for LLVM.
As for BSD, its a fair exchange. A developer gives openly a main program that is a gain for every one, wile hobbyists they contribute sub-programs that is a gain for everyone and mainly for the developer. So if BSD developers they want to gain something back, i don't understand why hobbyists must not have the same right. That is what GPL offers to us and i don't understand the hate. BSD also has a gap (the compatibility gap). So a future Apple-LLVM may be not compatible with the BSD LLVM, or they can make closed source the entire project. At the end any hate comments are ridiculous not because of hate but because of the inevitable. No closed source developer will go more than BSD and no hobbyist will abandon GPL. So comment that is not going to change not even one person, is better not to be written.
Leave a comment: