Xref: utzoo news.admin:3000 news.sysadmin:827 comp.sources.wanted:4556 comp.sources.d:2485 comp.unix.xenix:2679 Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!oodis01!uplherc!sp7040!obie!wes From: wes@obie.UUCP (Barnacle Wes) Newsgroups: news.admin,news.sysadmin,comp.sources.wanted,comp.sources.d,comp.unix.xenix Subject: Re: Please remove PD-YACC sources from your machine IMMEDIATELY Summary: AT&T licenses nearly everything they write. Message-ID: <99@obie.UUCP> Date: 13 Jul 88 07:47:13 GMT References: <3532@rpp386.UUCP> <135@dcs.UUCP> <235@pigs.UUCP> <4765@killer.UUCP> <4775@killer.UUCP> Organization: the Well of Souls Lines: 31 In article <4775@killer.UUCP>, chasm@killer.UUCP (Charles Marslett) writes: > In article <4765@killer.UUCP>, richardh@killer.UUCP (Richard Hargrove) writes: > > It would seem that if AT&T were concerned about names and algorithms > > that they would have attempted to stop the MKS yacc distribution > > since a) the tool is named yacc, and b) it demonstrates a very high > > degree of compatibility with Unix yacc (implying that the underlying > > algorithm(s) are the same). > > Actually, I seem to recall that the MKS version of yacc is in fact a > licensed port of the real AT&T yacc -- I do not remember why or who led > me to this belief, is there any contradictory (or supporting) information > out there to clear up the confusion? That would clear up why AT&T is not > after them! Yes, most of the tools MKS produces are (debugged, well-ported) licensed versions of gin-yoo-ine AT&T products. AT&T has a bbs-like system you can call into to look and see what's available. You can buy the source to many programs, like yacc and the new awk, for very reasonable prices for private use. I remember the source to the new awk was something like $300. If, on the other hand, you want to re-sell it, the price goes up quite a bit. I think 'new awk' was $10,000 for a redistribution license. In summary, yes AT&T does license their code to other systems houses. The operative word here is license. You can distribute the binaries of your port(s) of AT&T programs i_f_ _y_o_u_ _b_u_y_ _t_h_e_ _l_i_c_e_n_s_e_ _f_o_r_ _i_t_. If you don't buy the license, you are violating AT&Ts copyrights. -- {hpda, uwmcsd1}!sp7040!obie!wes "Happiness lies in being priviledged to work hard for long hours in doing whatever you think is worth doing." -- Robert A. Heinlein --