I have a problem with the readline license that applies to ghc, and programs compiled with ghc.
The readline library is under the GPL license. This means that any program (including ghc) that links with this library must itself be licensed under the GPL.
*Grrrr* Yes, you're right. I hadn't noticed that readline was GPL and not LGPL. The BSD license is "compatible" with the GPL, so according to the FSF, just because GHCi is linked with readline doesn't mean we have to license the whole of GHC and its libraries under the GPL. But we do have to make GHCi "available under the GPL" whatever that means. Actually I'm dubious about the notion of compatible licenses - I read the GPL carefully and I still don't see how it is compatible with the BSD license at all (I'm not the only person to have noticed this, see for example http://www.kallisys.org/bsd-lite/bsd-gpl/?lg=en). I think realistically we have to ditch readline for GHCi and use something with a friendlier license. BSD's libedit is a possibility. As for the readline library that GHC provides, I think that will have to move into its own package: we knew we would have to start a separate package for GPL libraries at some point, it looks like we've reached that stage. This is *so* annoying when all we're trying to do is write free software here. Grrrr. Cheers, Simon