lionel:
I've just discovered the GMP license problem. (see http://hackage.haskell.org/trac/ghc/wiki/ReplacingGMPNotes)
From my understanding, the gmp is GPL, GHC statically links it on windows. As a consequence, any program compiled using GHC must be distributed under a GPL compatible license.
GMP is *LGPL*.
In the threads I've read, some workarounds are proposed on linux and OsX, but I didn't see anything on windows.
Is the situation still the same ? Does anybody know a work-around to make a closed-source programm in haskell without violating the GPL ?
It is LGPL, which is a very important distinction. It just must be possible to replace the libgmp component with another that has been modified - you can't actively prevent people replacing the libgmp component. Supporting this is trivial with a dynamically linked / DLL libgmp. With a statically linked one, it is also possible, since the API calls to libgmp are specified. This shouldn't prevent commercial use -- lots of other companies have decided this is OK. You just need to be aware of it. -- Don