As a reminder, Stallmans's first attempt at GCC used the Pastel compiler source code from LLNL. http://gcc.gnu.org/wiki/History
> Hoping to avoid the need to write the whole compiler myself, I obtained the source code for the Pastel compiler, which was a multi-platform compiler developed at Lawrence Livermore Lab. It supported, and was written in, an extended version of Pascal, designed to be a system-programming language. I added a C front end, and began porting it to the Motorola 68000 computer.
I presume that the Pastel compiler therefore didn't require "hundreds of pages ..." in order to use and redistribute it. Or if it did, it wasn't binding on those who acquired the source.
It did Pastel, which is related to Pascal but isn't actually Pascal.
I picked it as an example of a compiler where others could distribute the source. Since you want to narrow it to C compilers, I'll instead point to the proprietary Aztec C compiler. It didn't come "locked behind hundreds of pages of licensing requirements and legal bullshit".
In fact, as far as I can tell, it had no licensing requirements outside of it being covered by copyright. Certainly there are fewer requirements than the GPL.
Here's a list of C compilers for micros of the 1980s. http://www.z80.eu/c-compiler.html . In a spot check, I can't find any which have hundreds (or even tens) of of pages licensing requirements.
Do you have any evidence to support your earlier statement? I've noticed that people sometimes emphasize Stallman's impact, but do so more out of ignorance of the other threads of history. How do I know that you aren't similarly inclined, given that it seems to be different than the written accounts from that time?
> Hoping to avoid the need to write the whole compiler myself, I obtained the source code for the Pastel compiler, which was a multi-platform compiler developed at Lawrence Livermore Lab. It supported, and was written in, an extended version of Pascal, designed to be a system-programming language. I added a C front end, and began porting it to the Motorola 68000 computer.
I presume that the Pastel compiler therefore didn't require "hundreds of pages ..." in order to use and redistribute it. Or if it did, it wasn't binding on those who acquired the source.