Re: patent on O_ATOMICLOOKUP [Re: [PATCH] loopable tmpfs (2.4.17)]

Wolfgang Denk
2002-05-25T20:51:46Z

In message <20020525133637.B17573@work.bitmover.com> Larry McVoy wrote:
>
> A couple of points. If you are going to rewrite, then you should rewrite.
> I'm told, and I've seen, that there substantial parts of RT/Linux in the
> RTAI source base. Isn't it true that RTAI used to be called "my-rtai"

You have seen what? Did you really compare RTAI and RT-Linux code?
Which "substantial parts" are you talking about? Please be
specific!!!

> and the guy who did that work freely admitted that it was a fork of the
> RT/Linux source base?

Yes, of course it was a fork at a very early point of the develop-
ment. So what? Nobody denies that RTAI is based on the same core idea
as RT-Linux - that's why the RT-Linux patent _is_ an issue to RTAI.

On the other hand, a lot of significant features originaten in RTAI,
and have been implemented in RT-Linux later - floating point support,
to name just one.

> want to support it, and will do so if it is really free. On the other
> hand, as soon as money enters the equation, the rules will change and
> you're just going to have to deal with that.

Too true.

Wolfgang Denk

--
Software Engineering: Embedded and Realtime Systems, Embedded Linux
Phone: (+49)-8142-4596-87 Fax: (+49)-8142-4596-88 Email: wd@denx.de
In a business, marketroids, salespukes, and lawyers have different
goals from those who actually do work and produce something. Usually,
is is the former who triumph over the latter, due to the simple rule
that those who print the money make the rules.
-- Tom Christiansen in <5jdcls$b04$2@csnews.cs.colorado.edu>