Return to BSD News archive
Xref: sserve comp.unix.bsd:7529 comp.os.linux:14931 Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd,comp.os.linux Path: sserve!manuel.anu.edu.au!munnari.oz.au!uunet!ukma!darwin.sura.net!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!saimiri.primate.wisc.edu!usenet.coe.montana.edu!gemini.oscs.montana.edu!osynw From: osynw@gemini.oscs.montana.edu (Nate Williams) Subject: Re: Port of new Linux math emulator to 386bsd? Message-ID: <1992Nov4.195534.29127@coe.montana.edu> Keywords: math emulator, portn Sender: usenet@coe.montana.edu (USENET News System) Organization: Montana State University References: <1992Nov4.021453.22896@citec.oz.au> <1992Nov4.111732.9703@klaava.Helsinki.FI> Date: Wed, 4 Nov 1992 19:55:34 GMT Lines: 38 In article <1992Nov4.111732.9703@klaava.Helsinki.FI> torvalds@klaava.Helsinki.FI (Linus Torvalds) writes: >In article <1992Nov4.021453.22896@citec.oz.au> sgccseh@citec.oz.au (Steve Hocking) writes: >> >> Looking at the latest Linux release and user comments on it, it >>appears that a new math emulator has been written which is more complete and >>accurate, plus about 2x faster. Does anybody have plans to port this to >>386bsd (since we got the original emulator from Linux anyway)? > >The problem is the copyright: it's copylefted code by Bill Metzenthen, >so you cannot distribute it under the 386bsd copyright. The original >emulator I wrote was also originally copylefted, but I gave Bill and >Lynne the right to use it under 386bsd (the copyright was changed to >something like "freely usable for the 386bsd and linux projects"). >You'd have to ask permission from Metzenthen - his email address can be >found in the sources. Since 386BSD already has GNU-copylefted code in it, I don't see why using this emulator would be a problem, since : 1) The code will always be distributed with 386BSD 2) The code is only in the kernel. The only time this code comes into play is when a non-FP machine executes FP code. None of this code is compiled into binaries. The only kicker I see in this is that maybe the Jolitz's don't want any GNU code in the kernel itself, and don't mind the copylefted utilities since they can be taken out as a whole w/out any loss of functionality in 386BSD (other than the loss of that utility) Comments? Bill or Lynee? Nate -- osynw@terra.oscs.montana.edu | A hacker w/out a home. work: (406) 994-5991 | Keeper of the Unofficial 386BSD Bug Report home: (406) 586-0579 | Please send bugs and/or fixes you find.