Distributing Compilers...

Hi,

Will Microsoft SUE me for distributing their C++ Compiler (CL.exe) as a back-end compiler for my front end editor name CodeDeveloper Studio 2002?

Any help would be great?
Shuaib

Tip : Read the licience agreement/readme.txt that came with the compiler

I believe there was already a thread about this...

You should read their terms of service from wherever you got cl.exe from. I bet it says you can't redistribute it. But have a look, that's what it's there for.

This is really a bad question. Don't you ever read the license agreements
you are agreeing with when you install them? You can't copy MS apps.

so how the hell do I get my program to rellease. I need a back end compiler that I can distribute for free and use it as and underlying compiler from the editor. ****!

I don't have to program my own COMPILE do I? I would never be able to do that!

Shuaib

Have a look here. (http://www.research.att.com/~bs/compilers.html)

Well, if I were you, I'd start looking for a re-distributable C compiler.... It may not be exactly like Microsoft's, but at least it'd be something. When you start a big project like this, you ALWAYS ALWAYS plan ahead. You have to research all this stuff, and lay out a plan of your project, so as not to get to the final step and realize it's not possible.

I think I'll have to give on the whole application. Whats the point relesasing a programming editor when it can't even compile the programs. I can't expect them to have their own compilers already - FOR THATS THE REASON SOMEONE WILL BUY MY PROGRAM.

Next time i start a masssive project, I'll think twice. images/icons/shocked.gif
Shuaib.

to be honest I feel totally gutted.

I feel so bad right nowthat i should just give up on programming. DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH CODE I HAVE WRITTEN FROM CodeDeveloper Studio 2002?

Its a bloddy massive and very gorgeous looking program.

Erm...
Shuaib

Well, as depressed as you may be right now, you shouldn't give up on programming because of this....

Why would you sell your app with an C++ compiler, you better make your IDE so flexible it can use all kind of C++ compilers.
There are some free C++ compilers, so customers only have to download the C++ compiler they WANT and can use it with your enviroment.
You will never be allowed to charge people for including a free compiler, but you can sell your app and put a download link in your app or maybe your allowed to give away for free the C++ compiler on a seperated disk.

Why wouldn't you be able to use a free compiler in a commercial product. Many people write AX controls and allow other people to use them. There's no real difference. Obviously, you would have to read the license of any free compiler you use very carefully.

I think the point ArnoutV was making was if you include a free compiler, you
still can't charge for it, not that you couldn't include one. Whether one can
include a particular free software product is dependent on the use license.

It sounds to me like youre trying to combine MSC++, Pascal, varius other languages all into one editor? A nice idea....

But if you think of the amount of time spent on each of these languages and their respective IDE's, individually then it'd take a lifetime to write a combo of all of them, UNLESS..... you were willing to fork out for the official distribution liscences. If you did buy them off the appropriate companies, you'd probably have to compile it all together rather than shipping several EXE's, or else your buyers could distribute as well...

It seems to me you need to delegate a little power to those that have already earned it. Give links to free compilers (as mentioned above) and code the ability to build these into your project. For example - on the options form, allow the user to specifiy the path to their compiler (downloaded free off the net) then when they click the compile button, your program checks the options form, loads up the file specified and bingo, you have compiler integration.

Don't give up, cos this sounds like a great product. Good luck.

There are loads of free compilers out there. I found the best way for my IDE to support lots of languages and comilers was to utilise a plugin system, so another language could easily be added to the program by just putting its DLL in to the plugins directory.

There are also building and publishing plugins in my IDE. The building ones take responsibility for building files. In many file formats, this equates to compiling them. At the moment I think I have it set to use the VC++ one, but there are so many free C and C++ compilers out there it would be easy to change. If anyone is interested, here are a couple of screenshots of my IDE:

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/lazertech/webcoder.gif

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/lazertech/webcoder_asm.gif

Good work divil..... looks very promising, I hope it works as good as it looks hehe images/icons/wink.gif

Don't encourage him.

The plugin method is what i suggested ( in a roundabout way ) and is probably the best way of doing it, and according to divil, works fine.

Screenies look nice divil.