LOGIN | REGISTER NOW | SUBSCRIBE
 

Plug-in architecture on the way for the gcc


By Alex Handy
Email    print   
January 27, 2009 —  (Page 1 of 2)
When Richard Stallman began writing Bison in 1983, he was only trying to build the bits of an operating system he would need to write another operating system. But that recursive goal was no stranger than the recursive name he would create for the software he would eventually create: the GNU Project, where GNU standard for “ GNU is Not Unix.”

And now, 25 years later, one of the most important tools to come out of the GNU Project’s drive for the GNU Operating System—the GNU Compiler Collection—has received approval from the Free Software Foundation to begin work on a plug-in architecture.

Mark Mitchell, founder of CodeSourcery, confirmed that the FSF gave its permission to prepare the gcc for plug-ins. This is the first time that such permission has been granted.

Mark Mitchell, Founder of CodeSourcery, and member of the GCC steering committee.
Previously, the FSF and gcc projects had debated whether or not to force plug-ins to adopt the GNU Public License, and today's decision bore out the FSF's goals. gcc plug-ins will have to use the GPL, but Mitchell said that this shouldn't be too much of a burden for developers.

“It does differ some from something like Firefox or Eclipse, where the plug-ins can be licensed under whatever terms," said Mitchell. "Obviously it's consistent with the FSF. I don't think it's going to be that big of an issue because the goal of people who write plug-ins is not to make money."

Some of the first plug-ins to surface, said Mitchell, should come from universities that are already working on ways to glimpse the inner workings of the gcc during compilation.

Edelsohn
David Edelsohn, maintainer of the PowerPC branch of GCC, and member of the GCC steering committee.
Ian Lance Taylor, senior staff software engineer at Google, has been contributing code to the gcc project since 1990. He said that, in all that time, the biggest change he's seen the compiler collection undergo was the move to Single Static Assignment in gcc 4.0, released in 2005. He said that the gcc is still relevant in today's market despite the large number of languages and compilers available.


Related Search Term(s): GCC, GNU, GPL, Unix, Free Software Foundation

Pages 1 2 


Share this link: http://sdt.bz/33218
 
Most Read Latest News Blog Resources
Branching and merging: the heart of version control
Providers hold their own views of the landscape, but the Git SCM system is drawing looks from them all
Not so fast when it comes to testing in the cloud
Developers face outsourcing, virtual lab management and mobile devices as obstacles
Microsoft pivots toward business intelligence
The goal is to make business intelligence accessible "to the masses"
From the Editors: Node.js is unruly, but that’s where the fun is
The time to get involved with Node.js is now; Hadoop is about to break its own barriers
Digg!  Digg
Reddit  Reddit
Slashdot  Slashdot
Share on facebook  Facebook
Share on Twitter  Twitter


Add comment


Name*
Email*  
Country     


  • Comment
Loading




close
NEXT ARTICLE
The Free Software Foundation's birthday wishes for the GPL
GNU and the GPL are celebrating milestone anniversaries this year. We asked leaders in the software development industry to chime in with their thoughts on these two influential elements of the industry and of open-source development in particular Read More...
 
 
 
 
News on Monday
more>>
SharePoint Tech Report
more>>


   

 
 

Download Current Issue
FEBRUARY 2012 PDF ISSUE

Need Back Issues?
DOWNLOAD HERE

Want to subscribe?


 
blogs tab
GitHire: Use Headhunters to Find Your Perfect Programmer
Are you a hiring manager tired of scouring the job boards? Check out this new service that will find 5 people interested in your jobs.
02/03/2012 12:17 PM EST

Facebook claims hacker cred
Facebook's SEC S-1 filing form includes a short essay on the Hacker Way by Mark Zuckerberg himself.
02/02/2012 08:26 AM EST

Ryan Dahl steps down
Ryan Dahl, creator of Node.js, steps back from his position as gatekeeper for the project.
02/01/2012 04:58 PM EST

Bloomberg opens its API
Bloomberg's APIs could lead to a future standard for accessing market data.
02/01/2012 04:41 PM EST

The case for piracy
In the aftermath of SOPA and PIPA, some copyright holders have begun to embrace piracy as inevitable...and even beneficial.
01/30/2012 02:39 PM EST

Tablet sales boom, but applications lag
The installed base of tablet computers and e-book readers is growing rapidly, but no killer app has yet emerged -- hint, hint.
01/28/2012 05:48 PM EST

 
Events calendar tab
Cloud Connect
2/13/2012 to 2/16/2012
Santa Clara
TechWeb

SPTechCon: The SharePoint Technology Conf.
2/26/2012 to 2/29/2012
San Francisco
BZ Media

RSA Conf.
2/27/2012 to 3/2/2012
San Francisco
RSA

IBM Pulse Conf.
3/4/2012 to 3/7/2012
Las Vegas
IBM Tivoli

Game Developer Conf.
3/5/2012 to 3/9/2012
San Francisco
TechWeb