On 06 January 2005 12:20, Ketil Malde wrote:

"Simon Marlow" writes:

...

There are already a couple of bits of (L)GPL under fptools: GMP and readline. GMP we'd like to replace because it is necessarily a part of every compiled Haskell program; readline isn't so important but it would be nice to have a BSD-licensed replacement.

Readline is GPL and GMP LGPL, aren't they?

Yes.

So GMP only restricts what you can do with modifications to that library (and thus only affects developers who want to release a modified GHC without source), while linking with readline will potentially affect regular users of GHC.

Strictly speaking you have to dynamically link GMP to avoid your program being affected by the LGPL. Most GHC installations use a dynamically linked GMP, but some do not. Readline's license affects GHC (because GHC itself links with it), but it doesn't affect programs you compile with GHC unless you explicitly request the readline package (unlike GMP, which is always linked in). Cheers, Simon