On 11 Feb 2005, Sam Lauber mused: > As for the exception missing, it should be kept that way.
As libgcc is linked against every program linked using the GCC driver, and is required by code generated with GCC, this would make it illegal to distribute any non-GPL software built with GCC. This is patently ridiculous and would make GCC almost useless, regardless of technical merit. Hence the exception clause. (Well, *clauses* really: the precise wording is different for the Ada libraries than for libgcc, and different yet again for the libstdc++ headers, corresponding to the different ways in which normal use of the compiler would incorporate those things into programs built with GCC.) -- Synapsids unite! You have nothing to lose but your eggshells!