I could build my own toolchain using crosstool-ng and the config files as posted on github. We'd be assured that we could archive the packages used by crosstool in making these toolchains, and include the licenses (which are all probably GPL). We could choose to package someone else's ARM toolchain that has better licensing information included. We could include no toolchain at all for RPi, and write up directions for how to download the official ones from github.
I can see that all of these might have some merit from a please-don't-sue-us standpoint, but I don't like any of them. The purist in me says that we should use the exact toolchains supplied by the RPi Foundation to build the kernel and packages for the RPi.
> I did just notice one problem with binary tar of the toolchain from
> github. It seems to be devoid of any license.
These binaries obtained from github print a copyright/license notice when executed with --version:
address@hidden 1 $ ./arm-bcm2708hardfp-linux-gnueabi-gcc --version
arm-bcm2708hardfp-linux-gnueabi-gcc (crosstool-NG 1.15.2) 4.7.1 20120402 (prerelease)
Copyright (C) 2012 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions. There is NO
warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
If that is not sufficient to satisfy the terms of the GPL, I could add a LICENSE.TXT file detailing where and when we obtained these binaries, and that they must be subject to the GPL, if not directly, than as derivative works. Pointing the interested user to
gnu.org for source seems reasonable to me. It is the canonical site for all things GNU, and is unlikely to go anywhere anytime soon.
I am no lawyer, thank God, but I believe that we have made a good-faith effort to be very clear where we have obtained these packages, and to include only free software, and comply with the GPL.
Please let me know if I should write up a LICENSE.TXT file for the toolchains. If not, please let me know which alternative approach will be acceptable, and I will make that happen.
Thanks again for the feedback.