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Binary-only compiler and library, plus documentation and include files for compiling new programs.
97 lines
4.4 KiB
Plaintext
97 lines
4.4 KiB
Plaintext
KCC DISTRIBUTION POLICY
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This file describes the general KCC distribution policy --
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licensing, restrictions, and that sort of thing. If you're not sure
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how it applies to your particular situation, just get in touch.
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First, note that the files are copyrighted. However, we
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consider them "quasi-public" and distribute them freely; the problem
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is that sometimes true public-domain stuff is acquired by private
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parties and modified slightly to produce a licensed, costly product.
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We wish to prevent this by keeping the sources available to everyone
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who wants to use KCC, but unavailable to those who have ideas of
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selling it; hence the copyright. This applies to all modifications as
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well.
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Second, since the software is provided free of charge, there
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is absolutely NO WARRANTY on anything in this distribution, nor any
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obligation to provide maintenance, and all of the usual software
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disclaimers apply to everything. If we were to be held responsible
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for any problems, we could not distribute KCC at all.
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The situation with respect to including KCC as a component of
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commercial software packages is fuzzy. Our current inclination is to
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allow this as a convenience to the ultimate end users, provided they
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are given ALL of the distribution, including sources and this notice.
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However, certain cirumstances may force re-assessment of this
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position; e.g. extensive modifications, huge numbers of users,
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time-consuming maintenance requirements... people with such
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applications in mind should contact us.
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People may be tempted to modify and "improve" the software.
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This is natural and to some extent desirable, but can quickly lead to
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chaos without some rules governing these additions and modifications.
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So we simply state that the use of KCC automatically implies agreement
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with the following policies:
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General:
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1. KCC is maintained as a primary software tool for SRI-NIC,
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and ensuring that it remains reliable and useful for this purpose must
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necessarily have our highest priority.
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2. Next most important is conformance to the C language
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defined by Harbison and Steele, plus the forthcoming ANSI C standard
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(currently a X3J11 committee draft). This includes library functions.
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3. Software portability, particularly to 4.3BSD-type UN*X,
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is slightly more important than TOPS-20 efficiency.
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4. Licensed UN*X software sources will never be used or
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distributed, and such contributions cannot be accepted.
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People making changes to KCC or the library should:
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1. Retain the copyright notice for each module, and add a
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history notice comment describing the change.
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2. Relay your improvements to the maintainers of the canonical
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version, so that they can be incorporated into new releases!
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Otherwise both you and the rest of the world will lose.
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3. Realize that your changes may not be adopted exactly as
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provided, if they conflict with one of the general policies. New
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library functions are particularly prone to this problem. As a
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solution we will probably collect such things into a separate library
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or two (e.g. for TOPS-20 specific functions).
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Finally:
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If at all possible, ask people who want copies of KCC to
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get it from the canonical source. If you must give
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them a copy, keep all of the original distribution
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intact in some form so that the baseline is constant.
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KCC is still under active development, and new releases (with
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all accumulated bug fixes, improvements, or new features) can be
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expected frequently. At all times there will exist only one canonical
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version of the software, from which all distributions are made. If
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you can make an Internet FTP connection to SRI-NIC.ARPA, you can
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retrieve it whenever you wish.
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Canonical version: KCCDIST: directory on SRI-NIC.ARPA
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Maintainer mailbox: <BUG-KCC@SRI-NIC.ARPA>
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Information list: <INFO-KCC@SRI-NIC.ARPA>
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(to get on:) <INFO-KCC-REQUEST@SRI-NIC.ARPA>
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BUG-KCC is for bug and problem reports and is sometimes used for
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discussion of esoteric internal issues. INFO-KCC members basically
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receive announcements of new releases and developments, and every site
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which has installed KCC should have at least one representative on
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that list. If enough users express interest, a user discussion group
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could also be started (probably this would deal with C on TOPS-20 in
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general rather than just KCC).
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Good luck! Feel free to contact me about any problems or questions
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you have.
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Ken Harrenstien Internet: <KLH@SRI-NIC.ARPA> Phone: (415) 859-6552
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Room EJ200
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SRI International
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333 Ravenswood Ave.
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Menlo Park, CA 94025
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