[Numpy-discussion] Code for compatibility with gfortran, license issues

[Robert Kern]

On Mon, Jun 29, 2009 at 00:34, David
Cournapeau<david at ar.media.kyoto-u.ac.jp> wrote:
> Hi,
>
>    I started working on a new approach for windows 64 bits support, to
> be able to combine gfortran and visual studio. Basically, I am
> reimplementing the needed functions from libgfortran so that it can be
> built with MS compiler, but I cannot hope to do that without using
> gfortran sources (under the GPL 3), if only for the signature/API of the
> functions.

Function signatures and public APIs are not copyrightable. What else
do you need?

> Is it ok to include those sources in numpy/scipy, given that
> they will only be used in those cases where libgfortran would have to be
> used anyway ?

Keep in mind that libgfortran is GPLv3+exception. Is the code that you
are looking at from gfortran itself (GPLv3) or libgfortran
(GPLv3+exception)?

-- 
Robert Kern

"I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless
enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as
though it had an underlying truth."
  -- Umberto Eco