On Dec 16, 2005, at 11:15 AM, Mark K. Smith wrote:
Additionally to the obstacles to adopt LLVM mentioned by Diego, I
named usage of C++ (although it has advantages too) and patents. LLVM
should be checked for usage of compiler patents. Gcc people avoided
many patents especially from Microsoft. We can not be sure right now
about LLVM.
Hi,
For what it's worth, LLVM doesn't depend on any technology patented
by Microsoft that I'm aware of. This seems to be an item of common
confusion, so I'll clear it up here.
The confusion is basically centered around the distinction between my
PhD research work and LLVM itself.
The thesis work I did at UIUC does relate closely to Steensgaard's
pointer analysis work, which is patented by Microsoft. However, this
thesis work is not currently used by LLVM, and certainly won't be
incorporated directly into GCC (for obvious patent reasons), so this
isn't an issue with LLVM adoption by GCC.
If you or the Gelato group has any questions about LLVM, I'd be more
than happy to answer them either on this list or over the phone.
-Chris
