README

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# Project Title: ATS/Postiats
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# The official website for ATS is:
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# http://www.ats-lang.org
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# ATS-Postiats is hosted at github:  
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# https://github.com/githwxi/ATS-Postiats
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# Project Description:
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ATS/Postiats (or ATS2/Postiats) is the name for the current compiler of
ATS2, the successor of ATS (or ATS1).

The actual implementation of ATS/Postiats started in the March of 2011, and
it took about two and one-half years to reach the first release of ATS2 at
the beginning of September, 2013. As of now, the code base for the compiler
of ATS2 consists of 150,000+ lines of code (LOC), which are nearly all
written in ATS1.

When compared to ATS1, the single most important new feature is the
template system of ATS2. This is a feature that could potentially change
the way a programmer writes his or her code. One can certainly feel that
this is a very powerful feature (a bit like feeling that OOP is a very
powerful feature). However, how this feature should be properly and
effectively used in practice needs a lot more investigation.

Another thing about ATS2 is that it is a lot leaner than ATS. One can make
good use of ATS2 without any need for compiled library (libatslib.a). Also,
GC support in ATS1 is now removed; if needed, third-party GC (e.g., Bohem-GC)
can be readily employed.

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# Licenses for ATS2 (Compiler + Libraries)
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* The Compiler (ATS/Postiats):
  [GPLv3](https://github.com/githwxi/ATS-Postiats/blob/master/COPYING-gpl-3.0.txt)
* The source for Libraries (ATSLIB/{prelude,libc,libats}):
  [GPLv3](https://github.com/githwxi/ATS-Postiats/blob/master/COPYING-gpl-3.0.txt).
* The object code for Libraries (ATSLIB/{prelude,libc,libats}):
  [LGPLv2.1](https://github.com/githwxi/ATS-Postiats/blob/master/COPYING-lgpl-2.1.txt).
* As a special exception, if you link the object code for Libraries with other files
  to create an executable, then the linking does not by itself cause the executable to
  be covered by LGPLv2.1. However, this exception does not invalidate any other reasons
  that might result in the executable being covered by LGPLv2.1.
* There is a separate release under the BSD license for the C header files of the
  Libraries, which one can freely insert into the C code generated from ATS source code.

###### end of [README] ######