Adam Rak <adam....@streamnovation.com> writes: > We are a forming company (StreamNovation Ltd.) from Hungary, and we > would like to ask your attitude about our plans. We are intending to > implement a plugin for GCC 4.5 which makes it possible to utilize the > GPU (graphics processing unit) semi-automatically (later > fully-automatically). We are planning to implement it as a free > software according to GPL, but we would also like to sell it in a box, > and get paid for personal support, guarantee and education. > > The basic idea is to make the GPU kind of OpenMP (Open > Multi-Processing is an application programming interface (API) that > supports multi-platform shared memory multiprocessing programming in > C, C++). The GCC user marks the loop, and GCC creates a heterogeneous > binary code which runs the kernel on GPU, generated from the original > source code. We expect huge attention for this field in the next few > years. We think our plugin is in harmony with the GCC development > mission statement. > > We are ready to follow any of your instructions according to GPL, > source code publicity, and legal compatibility with GPU manufacturers' > software.
I am not a member of the gcc steering committee. That said, this is a question better directed to the Free Software Foundation. The FSF holds the copyright for gcc and they wrote the license. The license text is, of course, readily available, so you could also consult legal advice in your own country. The rule for gcc plugins are described at http://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses/gcc-exception.html My personal opinion as an individual contributor to gcc: I don't know precisely what you mean by "sell it in a box." You are permitted to sell any GPL program in a box, provided you include source code (or an offer to get source code) and provided you permit purchasers of the box to redistribute the code themselves. The GPL also always permits you to "get paid for personal support, guarantee and education." You may it useful to read the GPL FAQ published by the Free Software Foundation: http://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses/gpl-faq.html Ian
