Re: Baby X is bor nagain

On 29/06/2024 11:15, Kaz Kylheku wrote:

On 2024-06-29, David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> wrote:

gcc toolchains are free, and the standard from manufacturers for a very
long time.  The others are very expensive, and it's very questionable if
they actually provide much extra value for most development teams.
(They /do/ provide better tools for some kinds of development.)
Consequently, gcc is overwhelmingly the most popular.

 One thing: builds having to talk to some god forsaken licensing server
to get permission to compile is beyond ridiculous.
 

I agree.  I understand that vendors want to get paid for people using their tools (especially if that's their main business), and that it's hard to enforce license usage without some kind of license server or lock system.  But it is really bad for the user.  I've seen countless tricks to get around licensing restrictions - not to avoid paying money or cheating the supplier, but simply to get the flexibility and long-term usage that you have paid for.  For me, the zero cost price of most gcc toolchains is not a big deal.  I've paid for gcc toolchains and other toolchains, and am fine with that if they are good value for money.  The zero restrictions on usage, on the other hand, is an enormous benefit.
I think the gcc model is one that works out well - big sponsors of the development include cpu manufacturers like ARM.  We use the gcc toolchain and make programs that run on ARM microcontrollers.  And each microcontroller we buy then results in a bit of money back to ARM.