From 371e06c4ba4e2372d7331a9557aa5060d324900c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: David Allsopp Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2017 19:10:12 +0100 Subject: [PATCH] update the note in README.win32 regarding Cygwin licensing no change entry needed (David Allsopp, Olivier Andrieu) --- README.win32.adoc | 15 +++++++++++---- 1 file changed, 11 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-) diff --git a/README.win32.adoc b/README.win32.adoc index 9d5238cc3..686a47d93 100644 --- a/README.win32.adoc +++ b/README.win32.adoc @@ -26,10 +26,17 @@ Here is a summary of the main differences between these ports: |===== [[tb1]] -(*):: Cygwin-generated `.exe` files refer to a DLL that is distributed under the -GPL. Thus, these `.exe` files can only be distributed under a license that is -compatible with the GPL. Executables generated by Microsoft Visual C++ or -Mingw-w64 have no such restrictions. +(*):: Executables generated by the native GCC package in Cygwin are linked with +the Cygwin DLL and require this to be distributed with your programs. +Executables generated by Microsoft Visual C++ or the Mingw-w64 compilers (even +when run in Cygwin as `i686-w64-mingw32-gcc` or `x86_64-w64-mingw32-gcc`) are +not linked against this DLL. Prior to Cygwin 2.5.2 (the Cygwin version can be +obtained with `uname -r`) the Cygwin DLL is distributed under the GPL, requiring +any programs linked with it to be distributed under a compatible licence. Since +version 2.5.2, the Cygwin DLL is distributed under the LGPLv3 with a static +linking exception meaning that, like executables generated by Microsoft Visual +C++ or the Mingw-w64 compilers, generated executables may be distributed under +terms of your choosing. [[tb2]] (**):: The debugger is supported but the "replay" functions are not enabled.