ReactOS, the open source implementation of a Windows XP/2003 compatible operating system, just published a new interview in their series of interviews with ReactOS developers. Today's interview features the most active kernel developer Alex Ionescu.
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Member since:2005-07-07
There is no doubt that GvG has a lot of trouble reading English
Well, English isn't my native language, that's for sure.
Secondly, the fast entry call is already written in assembly
Yeah, I messed up there. In the case of the fast entry call you copied the disassembled code to asm instead of converting it to C. Minor mistake on my part, still a huge mistake on your part. Or are you now claiming the ReactOS fast entry code was written independently by you? Just a fair warning, I still have an email around where you admit to copying the code from Windows.
Merging HAL and Kernel code from ReactOS to TinyKRNL is appropriate use of the GPL, because that code will remain GPL licensed.
Finally, TinyKRNL does not use the BSD license, as the FAQ page clearly states.
Well, no, it clearly states TinyKRNL DOES use the BSD license. At this time (22 nov 18:30 GMT) it says "Because our components are linked with static libraries from the DDK as well as because some of our driver components are based on Microsoft Distributable Code, whose license prohibits usage of an Excluded License (such as the GPL or LGPL), these TinyKRNL components are licensed under the BSD license.".
I have no reason to doubt that the license in the svn tree is different if you say so, but I never made claims about the license in the svn tree, only about the license mentioned on the FAQ.
Member since:2006-01-27
Well, no, it clearly states TinyKRNL DOES use the BSD license. At this time (22 nov 18:30 GMT) it says "Because our components are linked with static libraries from the DDK as well as because some of our driver components are based on Microsoft Distributable Code, whose license prohibits usage of an Excluded License (such as the GPL or LGPL), these TinyKRNL components are licensed under the BSD license.".
You really can't read can you? "some of our driver components." "these TinyKRNL components". Yes, DDK samples are licensed BSD because this is 100% ALLOWED BY THE DDK EULA. Companies all over the WORLD are using samples for their commercial products even. ATI, NVDIA, VMWare, Maxtor, etc. Only the WDK license changed this but we don't use WDK samples.
The rest of the paragraph you quoted says:
"[...]This restriction has led to the creation of the TinyKRNL Shared Source License, which is available in the root folder of the SVN server. Always check the source file to verify which license it belongs to."
Thank you for spreading FUD!
Best regards,
Alex Ionescu
Member since:
2006-01-27
There is no doubt that GvG has a lot of trouble reading English, so perhaps someone should clarify things for him.
Merging HAL and Kernel code from ReactOS to TinyKRNL is appropriate use of the GPL, because that code will remain GPL licensed.
Secondly, the fast entry call is already written in assembly. Any competent OS developer should know that such low level code cannot be written in C, because registers mush be manually manipulated and precise trap frames created. It would be a pointless excercise to convert assembly to C when this C code is unusable. Since ReactOS does indeed boot, then I guess it's not using any magic C code.
Finally, TinyKRNL does not use the BSD license, as the FAQ page clearly states. It uses its own license which is obtainable from the SVN server in the root folder, and all code specifies this. If GvG had actually done research (instead of another envious attempt at discreditting a developer), he would've seen this file. But perhaps he has and it's not matching with his theories.
If there is a mention of the BSD license on the about page, it is a mistake and probably has already been fixed. As the frontpage mentions (perhaps GvG has not read that either), the webpages are still under construction, and our webmaster has been hospitalized for over a month now. Making sure he recovers from his injuries is more important to me then nagging him about a mistake on the about page, which is meaningless since the important place -- the code -- has the right license.
Once you get popular enough in life, it's normal for you to start having envious people who try to discredit you. Mike_m and GvG are prime examples of this, as their comment history shows. It's unfortunate that their inability to make a name of themselves must result in their attempts to destroy another's name.
Best regards,
Alex Ionescu