Licensing: does the root LICENSE.txt (GPLv2) cover the compiler only?

[thorstenstueker]

Hello, and thank you for keeping this project alive — the 3.0.0 class library work made a real difference for us.

A licensing question I could not resolve from the repository alone, and I would rather ask than assume.

What I measured

modules/licenses/ assigns licences per module:

module	licence
robovm-rt, robovm-objc, robovm-cocoatouch, vm	Apache-2.0
dist-compiler, llvm, libimobiledevice	GPLv2

Reading all 3818 sources in robovm-rt-sources.jar: 1731 files are GPLv2 with the Classpath Exception (the OpenJDK-derived parts), 600 Apache-2.0, 562 ICU — none GPL without an exception, none LGPL.

The root LICENSE.txt, however, is plain GPLv2 with no exception and no scope statement. That it is meant for the compiler is something I can only infer — it is byte-identical to the compiler module's licence file.

The README says it in prose:

Generally, RoboVM is GPL2, with the runtime code being Apache 2 for distribution on iOS.

which matches what I measured, but a README is not a licence.

The questions

1. Is it correct that the root LICENSE.txt covers the compiler and tooling — the parts that run on the developer's machine — and not the runtime artifacts that are linked into an application?
2. Is it correct that an application bundle containing robovm-rt.jar, robovm-objc.jar, robovm-cocoatouch.jar and librobovm-*.a carries only Apache-2.0 and GPLv2-with-Classpath-Exception obligations, and none from the compiler's GPLv2?
3. Is invoking bin/robovm as a separate process the intended way to keep those apart?

An offer

If the answers are "yes", would a short scope note in the root LICENSE.txt or README be welcome? Something like "This file covers the compiler and tooling; see modules/licenses/ for the per-module terms of the runtime." I am happy to open a PR with wording of your choosing — it would save the next person this question.

Thanks for your time.

[dkimitsa]

Hello,
compiler as it was initially contain many components under different licenses:
https://github.com/MobiVM/robovm/blob/dev/3.0.0/compiler/compiler/NOTICE.txt

while as you mentioned runtime and runtime binaries are under Apache and GPL CE:
https://github.com/MobiVM/robovm/blob/dev/3.0.0/compiler/rt/NOTICE.txt
https://github.com/MobiVM/robovm/blob/dev/3.0.0/compiler/rt/LICENSE_GPL_CE.txt
https://github.com/MobiVM/robovm/blob/dev/3.0.0/compiler/rt/LICENSE.txt

NOTICE.txt are located in different folders and applies to folder where are located.
there is no root LICENSE.txt due historical moments when project forked from original RoboVM and combined into monolith project.

adding PR with root NOTICE.txt would be appreciated.
thanks.