RE: binutils for mac os x

["Dave Korn" <dave dot korn at artimi dot com>]

----Original Message----
From: Jonathan Wilson 
Sent: 28 February 2005 10:31
To: Dave Korn

[  Jonathan, you left the list out of the Cc line; I'm assuming that this
wasn't deliberate because it's not exactly a personal reply, so I've added
it back in.  ]

>>   Binutils works for many targets, but only Apple's own specialised
>> version works properly for mac os x.  So the assembler you have on your
>> system is binutils (of a sort), but you won't be able to recompile it or
>> update it from the GNU binutils until Apple have contributed the changes
>> they made to their version of it into the public source codes, because
>> until they do the public versions won't support mac os x.  Any clearer?
> GNU AS is under the GNU GPL so anyone can come along and take whatever
> changes Apple made to GNU AS and use them (I doubt that Apple of all
> companies would be distributing builds of GNU AS and not complying with
> the GPL)

  Absolutely so, and nobody is suggesting otherwise.  Apple have always made
their sources available, but they are a large and unwieldy organisation, and
it sometimes takes a little while before they can make the arrangements to
get source code contributed back to the GNU projects; but they have always
been completely happy to distribute their sources directly to the public in
the meantime.  They helped a lot in the early days of altivec support for
gcc, for example, by distributing patchsets that they had been working with
internally, that had more advanced support than anything available in the
FSF's repository.


    cheers,
      DaveK
-- 
Can't think of a witty .sigline today....