Michael Goffioul wrote:
This link will hopefully clarify this.
http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#WindowsRuntimeAndGPL
This FAQ does not make the distinction between whether the installer contains the run-time libraries or not. Based on the verbiage in the GPL (explained in the other mail) I therefore think that this FAQ assumes that the installer does not contain the run-time libraries.
there's no point in discussing the rest.
There is, because you or the Octave people have other ways to build an installer that fulfils the letter of the GPL: - Build with an older version of MSVC++, whose runtime libraries are contained in the minimum version of Windows that your package supports, or - Distribute the the MSVC++ runtime libraries in a separate installer (then it's mere "aggregation" in the terms of the GPL), or - Arrange for the installer to pop up a browser window to the Microsoft VC++ redistributables download page. The last two options are still not following the spirit of the GPL (because they encourage the installation of closed-source libraries), but legally not a GPL violation. In the second option, there's also the Microsoft license that you have to look at. I find it funny that the license in the "Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributables" (vcredist_x86.exe) expressly forbids redistributing its contents. Bruno