Should "std.net.curl" be moved from Phobos to Deimos?

[Andrei Alexandrescu]

On 11/26/13 11:13 AM, Brad Anderson wrote:
> To use 32-bit curl you need to generate an OMF import library from the
> libcurl DLL. It's not terribly hard. I did it originally for when I
> added downloading of libcurl to the Windows installer.

When is the OMF library needed?

1. While building dmd

2. While building druntime

3. While building phobos

4. While building client code that does NOT use std.net.curl

5. While building client code that DOES use std.net curl

> It's not at all
> obvious to users that they need to distribute libcurl.dll et al when
> they distribute their application but that's a documentation issue.

Or they could kick the can down the road by requiring their customers to 
have it.

> If I remember correctly Walter didn't want to distribute in the dmd zip
> anything that wasn't boost licensed which is why curl on Windows comes
> as a separate download. zlib is a notable exception but I seem to recall
> Walter regretted including zlib.

On the other hand we've hardly heard one peep from anyone in literally 
years that their zip code has trouble building.

We can ask the libcurl author if it comes down to redistributing a 
libcurl binary. But we want to make sure this is the solution of choice.

> I can't remember off the top of my head if libcurl's license allows it
> to be statically linked with a boost licensed library but that would
> certainly simplify things for end users (but complicate the building of
> phobos a bit).

My reading of http://curl.haxx.se/docs/copyright.html is that the author 
does his best to open up his library.


Andrei