the Cygwin packaging system and the GPL

[Bruno Haible]

Hello Jon,

> (These can be installed into /usr/src/ using the setup tool, by 
> selecting "src?" checkbox after locating the appropriate package and 
> version)

Oh, I completely missed this possibility.

I also missed the possibility to download the source package from a
Cygwin packages mirror, such as https://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/cygwin/x86_64/release/ .

I was focused on the links that can be reached from the
https://cygwin.com/packages/summary/<package>.html
and
https://cygwin.com/packages/summary/<package>-src.html
including the "packaging repository:" link.

Apologies.

> For the exactly reasons you lay out, it is absolutely mandatory that 
> those packages exist, are accurate and be provided along with the 
> install package.

That's great. Sorry that I got a wrong impression.

> I would very much like to evolve it into a system 
> which reduces the scope for maintainer error and where the sources used 
> to build a package are more transparently and easily located.

Maybe in the per-version table in
https://cygwin.com/packages/summary/<package>-src.html,
next to the hyperlink "list of files", add another column "Download source",
with a hyperlink to <mirror>/x86_64/release/<package>/*-src.tar.{xz,zst}. ?

Bruno