Re: timezone.el patterns in emacs 19.34

[Hrvoje Niksic <hniksic@srce.hr>]

Ken Raeburn <raeburn@cygnus.com> writes:

> as the lisp or yacc versions?  Maybe.  Would it be worth spending the
> time?  I doubt it, at least for right now.  If you want to do it
> anyways, go for it....

I will not do it, unless a good speedup in Gnus (and possibly other
packages, but my focus is on Gnus, which uses the routine heavily) is
the result.  I don't consider it a particular fun thing to write, but
if it's a good point for speed optimization -- why not?

> > > > Then, there are copyright problems with it.
> > > No, there aren't.
> > Yes, there are.  The public domain code is not to be introduced in
> > important parts of Emacs, as it is compromisable.
> 
> "Compromisable?"  Why, because the FSF might not be able to get
> paperwork saying it really is PD?  They could try, and I suspect such
> paperwork would be enough.

No.  By definition, PD software is the software that is not
copyrighted -- it does not have a legal owner (which should be the
person or persons signing the papers).  From www.fsf.org:

Public domain software 
    Public domain software is software that is not copyrighted. It is
    a special case of non-copylefted free software, which means that
    some copies or modified versions may not be free at all.
    Sometimes people use the term ``public domain'' in a loose fashion
    to mean ``free'' or ``available gratis.'' However, ``public
    domain'' is a legal term and means, precisely, ``not
    copyrighted''.  For clarity, we recommend using ``public domain''
    for that meaning only, and using other terms to convey the other
    meanings.

Stallman considers PD programs unsafe to use in GNU.

    * Public domain.

    If you put the program in the public domain, we prefer to have a
    signed piece of paper--a disclaimer of rights--from you confirming
    this.  If the program is not very important, we can do without
    one; the worst that could happen is that we might some day be
    forced to stop using it.

    The law says that anyone can copyright a modified version of the
    public domain work.  (This doesn't restrict the original, which
    remains in the public domain; only the changes are copyrighted.)
    If we make extensive changes, we will probably do this and add our
    usual copyleft.  If we make small changes, we will leave the
    version we distribute in the public domain.

> (Actually, I'd be surprised if there weren't some other GNU programs
> using a date parser already.  For example, GNU date in sh-utils.)

Yes, there are pieces of public-domain software in GNU, but they are
either dispensable, or there is not yet a free replacement (as in the
case of `getdate.y').

-- 
Hrvoje Niksic <hniksic@srce.hr> | Student at FER Zagreb, Croatia
--------------------------------+--------------------------------
Oh lord won't you buy me a color TV...