gnupic: PIC32 C32 GCC Source Code Released
Subject:
Re: PIC32 C32 GCC Source Code Released
From:
John Steele Scott ####@####.####
Date:
8 Nov 2007 23:04:39 +0000
Message-Id: <fh04kq$fc0$1@ger.gmane.org>
Xiaofan Chen wrote:
> On Nov 8, 2007 1:40 PM, Rob Welch ####@####.#### wrote:
>> Turns out that MIPS owns much of the compiler source code, so getting the
>> whole thing it going to be tough.
>> (Still lurking around)
>
> Thanks. But then I have to question the legality of Microchip's
> distributing a code size limit C32 binary since it uses GNU GPLed
> source codes. I am not a lawyer but this is kind of strange.
> That is why I asked in the forum in the first place.
> http://forum.microchip.com/tm.aspx?m=292995
>
> I can understand Microchip distributes the C30 student version
> with no code size limit but with optimization limit since the
> PA (procedure abstraction) optimizer is not covered by GPL.
>
> Do I miss something obvious?
In C30, they actually use a preprocessor #ifdef to conditionally compile
code which disables GCC optimisations depending on the result of calling
the license manager. When Microchip build their version of GCC, they define
the symbol, to make a crippled GCC. By default, this is disabled.
C32 could take the same approach. If there is a pic32 license manager
program, grep the source to see if GCC ever executes it.
The reply James Grosbach gave you in the Microchip forum suggests that the
size limitation is imposed by the runtime library somehow, but I don't see
how that would work. On the other hand, I can imagine that the easiest
place to impose this restriction would be in a linker script.
cheers,
John
