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Message-ID: <20260604125919.GG27423@brightrain.aerifal.cx>
Date: Thu, 4 Jun 2026 08:59:20 -0400
From: Rich Felker <dalias@...c.org>
To: Walid Trabelsi <walid.tr@...il.com>
Cc: musl@...ts.openwall.com
Subject: Re: Question: origin/version of TRE code in musl regex
On Wed, Jun 03, 2026 at 10:24:56AM +0100, Walid Trabelsi wrote:
> Hello musl maintainers,
>
> I am currently analyzing the origin and versioning of the regex
> implementation used in musl libc (specifically musl 1.1.24) for open source
> compliance purposes.
> >From my investigation, I understand that musl incorporates code derived
> from the TRE (Tagged Regular Expressions) project by Ville Laurikari, and
> that this code was initially imported around February 2011.
>
> Based on available evidence:
> - The latest upstream TRE release prior to that time appears to be v0.8.0
> (2009)
> - The musl source references TRE copyright (2001–2009)
> - The regex engine structure (TNFA, tag handling, etc.) aligns with TRE
> design
>
> However, it is unclear whether the imported code corresponds exactly to a
> specific upstream TRE release (such as v0.8.0), or if it was based on a
> snapshot or modified version at the time of import.
>
> Could you please clarify:
>
> 1. Was the TRE code in musl originally imported from a specific released
> version (e.g., v0.8.0), or from a development snapshot?
> 2. Is there any known mapping or reference commit in the TRE project that
> corresponds to the imported code?
> 3. Is it correct to describe musl’s regex implementation as a fork derived
> from TRE v0.8.0, subsequently modified and maintained independently?
>
> Any clarification would be greatly appreciated, as it will help ensure
> accurate attribution and documentation.
I'll see what I can find. I know there was communication with the
author at the time of relicensing, but I can't find it at the moment.
Per the musl commit log though, what's in musl was aligned with 0.8.0
upstream in 2012, but this included keeping all of the local
modifications from the previous version that had a 2006 copyright
date.
The TRE website is gone, but present in the Internet Archive:
https://web.archive.org/web/20100714225623/http://laurikari.net/tre/download/
It doesn't seem to have any versions older than that though. I almost
surely have older tarballs *somewhere* that could be dug up. I haven't
checked if the new-ish repo on GitHub has all the old history from
darcs. If not, I'm not sure if there is any public history at this
point.
Rich
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