tomc@oakhill.UUCP (02/14/87)
Are the sources for RCS generally available? I have a manual page which
contains a copyright by the author, Walter F. Tichy, which makes me wonder.
I have heard that it comes bundled with 4.3BSD, but do not know if that
includes source code (we are running Sun 3s with Sun's 4.2 version). On
the other hand, I have also heard that the sources have been posted
(hearsay?). Please send email if you can enlighten me. Thanks.
--
Tom Cunningham "Good, fast, cheap -- select two."
USPS: Motorola Inc. 6501 William Cannon Dr. W. Austin, TX 78735-8598
UUCP: {ihnp4,seismo,ctvax,gatech}!ut-sally!oakhill!tomc
Phone: 512-440-2953wohler@sri-spam.UUCP (02/15/87)
i have mods to the RCS sources that fix two problems: * if you use ^D to end a log message, the ^D isn't cleared and causes any subsequent log messages to be prematurely terminated. * on suns, rcs and ci have a segmentation violation when locking files (since it does a strcmp with a null pointer). i could distribute these diffs to someone with source code i suppose. --bw
jim@strath-cs.UUCP (02/16/87)
In article <840@oakhill.UUCP> tomc@oakhill.UUCP (Tom Cunningham) writes: >Are the sources for RCS generally available? I have a manual page which >contains a copyright by the author, Walter F. Tichy, which makes me wonder. RCS isn't generally available. The version distributed with 4.2 BSD uses a diff program derived from the AT&T version which can only be passed to those who have source licences from AT&T. In addition, the RCS code is "owned" by Walter Tichy so you would need his permission to use it even if you have an AT&T source licence. Presumably, he felt that the conditions attached to a Berkeley licence were good enough to protect his interests and those of AT&T. Of course, things may be different for the 4.3 BSD release... Jim ARPA: jim%cs.strath.ac.uk@ucl-cs.arpa, jim@cs.strath.ac.uk UUCP: jim@strath-cs.uucp, ...!seismo!mcvax!ukc!strath-cs!jim JANET: jim@uk.ac.strath.cs "JANET domain ordering is swapped around so's there'd be some use for rev(1)!"
devine@vianet.UUCP (02/18/87)
In article <840@oakhill.UUCP>, tomc@oakhill.UUCP (Tom Cunningham) writes: > Are the sources for RCS generally available? I have a manual page which > contains a copyright by the author, Walter F. Tichy, which makes me wonder. A co-worker recently sent a request to Dr. Tichy asking if RCS was public domain. The reply was that it is _not_. Tichy wants to control the distribution of RCS so that noone can sell it. One problem with RCS is that it uses Unix programs (diff, diff3) so that you need a Unix license. We wanted to use it for code control on all lab machines, even our non-Unix ones. Bob Devine
gnu@hoptoad.uucp (John Gilmore) (03/19/87)
In article <392@stracs.cs.strath.ac.uk>, jim@cs.strath.ac.uk (Jim Reid) writes: > RCS isn't generally available. The version distributed with 4.2 BSD uses > a diff program derived from the AT&T version which can only be passed to > those who have source licences from AT&T. In addition, the RCS code is > "owned" by Walter Tichy so you would need his permission to use it even > if you have an AT&T source licence. Presumably, he felt that the conditions > attached to a Berkeley licence were good enough to protect his interests and > those of AT&T. > > Of course, things may be different for the 4.3 BSD release... They are. In the 4.3BSD distribution, there is a specific list of files that are covered by the Berkeley license. Some of the user contributed software is *not* included in the list, thus is not covered by the license. (Sad to say, the list is only provided in hardcopy, so it's tedious to determine what is and is not covered.) RCS in the 4.3 distribution is *not* covered by the Berkeley license. It is, however, still derived from AT&T 'diff' and 'diff3', though there are efforts afoot to fix that. However, Walter Tichy's copyright notice still exists in the sources, and still reserves all rights in the software. If anyone is interested in removing the AT&T "diff" fragments from RCS, possibly inserting an interface that calls on any diff (e.g. via 'popen') rather than embedding a PD diff into the program, Walter has indicated a willingness to release an AT&T-clean RCS for wider distribution. -- John Gilmore {sun,ptsfa,lll-crg,ihnp4}!hoptoad!gnu gnu@ingres.berkeley.edu Love your country but never trust its government. -- from a hand-painted road sign in central Pennsylvania