skarnet.org packages dependency to GNU make -> 3.81

From: Laurent Bercot <ska-skaware_at_skarnet.org>
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 2015 16:38:14 +0200

  Hello,

  You know how I feel about distributions shipping packages that are
8 years old.
  You know how I feel about people insisting on using old versions
of a package when later versions are backwards-compatible.

  Well, I was given new information that made me change my mind.

  The thing is, GNU make-3.81 is GPLv2+, and GNU make-3.82 and later
releases are GPLv3+. *That* is the reason why some distributions
stick to GNU make-3.81, and won't ship any later version.

  I would normally completely disregard that, but in this particular
instance, I happen to agree that GPLv3 is a very bad license, and
forcing people to use a GPLv3+ tool in their normal operation pipeline
is not a good idea. For instance, businesses couldn't safely comply
with this. Some businesses, and some distributions, just refuse to
use or package anything depending on GPLv3 software, and I can't
really blame them.

  So I bit the bullet. From the current git head and for the
foreseeable future, the skarnet.org packages will build with make-3.81.

  If you don't know how I feel about politics and licensing getting in
the way of technical efficiency, you can certainly guess it by now.

-- 
  Laurent
Received on Mon Oct 12 2015 - 14:38:14 UTC

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