Re: Bitkeeper outrage, old and new

> > I disagree with your statement that his rants are off topic.  Unless you 
> > believe that the purpose of Linux isn't the advancement of Free software, 
> > then debating the merits of using non-Free software in the development 
> > process of a major cornerstone of the Free software movement is 
> > fundamentally on topic.  
> 
> Ask Richard if GCC was ever initially bootstrapped using a non-GPL
> compiler suite.

As far as I know:

It was initially developed as a C front end to VUCK, but was later
re-written, using none of the VUCK code, but initially keeping parts
of the C front end.  The GNU project was originally developed without
using any proprietary software.

So, non-GPL software was used, but the software that was used was, at
least to begin with, all non-proprietary.

John