[LLVMdev] RE: MASM Backend

[Ed Cogburn]

Henrik Bach wrote:

> has anyone read the license details for MASM32 and understood how these
> fit in with Open Source projects, especially GPL?


A dangerous question there... :)

The Trolltech folks believe the license for VC++ prevents you from using
GPL'd software which is why they don't initially support MS compilers in
their GPL'd Windows version of Qt4 (which they just released).  Its another
one of those arguments over word definitions that won't really go away
until MS makes its intent clear, either by clarification on one hand, or
lawsuits on the other.  :)  MS DOES have some explicit anti-open source
language in their license, but no one was sure at the time this debate
occurred (when Trolltech announced Qt4 for Windows without initial support
for MS compilers) what its full scope was/is.  On the other hand, MS is
only really gunning for the GPL, not stuff like LLVM that is under a more
permissive license, so I'm not sure there is any real problem here for
LLVM.

I have to agree with Jeff on this, if NASM support is only intended for
Windowsland, I don't really see the point, just support ML instead.  If
NASM support is intended for *nixland too, then why not support YASM
instead?  YASM has got AMD64 support that NASM doesn't and its supposedly
an improvement over NASM (I don't know for a fact - just what I've read). 
My question would be is there something GAS doesn't do (or do well) that is
the reason why NASM support is wanted as well?  Since the LLVM system, like
GCC, is designed to spit out correct assembly thats not really meant for
human consumption (immediately fed to the assembler and then normally
thrown away), is there any reason to support any assembler beyond the
"standard" one for the system in question (gas on *nix/cygwin, ML on win)?