[RFC] LLVM Foundation statement in favor of open access to standards documents
The LLVM Foundation's RFC, posted on the LLVM Discourse forum, outlines a proposed public statement supporting open access to standards documents. The initiative targets standards such as C++, C, and OpenMP, which are critical for compiler and toolchain development. Currently, many of these documents are behind paywalls, hindering community contributions and code correctness. The RFC suggests that the LLVM Foundation should advocate for free access, leveraging its influence as a major open-source project. The discussion includes feedback from community members, with some noting that ISO and other bodies have begun moving toward open access but progress is slow. The proposal does not specify a timeline or enforcement mechanism, but it signals a formal stance that could pressure standards organizations. If adopted, this could lower the entry barrier for new contributors and improve the accuracy of LLVM's implementations by allowing direct reference to official specifications.
Open standards access would enable more developers to verify compiler behavior against official specs.