Why does Apple ship bash 3.2? [closed]

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For several years I have been wondering why Apple ships new OS X releases with old version of Bash.

I came across the question Update bash to version 4.0 on OSX where there is a mention of problem with the fact that new bash is released under GPLv3. Is it true? If so, what problem has Apple with this license? There isn't any other GPLv3'd software in OSX?

Answer 1

1. Yes, newer versions of Bash are released under GPLv3
2. This question brings out armchair lawyers that argue points for and against GPLv3. Simply put, GPLv3 conflicts with Apple's Licensing Policies (among other licenses). None of these licenses prevent you from downloading the source code and compiling a newer version of Bash. On a historical note, Bash was not originally offered as a shell in OS X.
3. Apple does not supply any software under the GPLv3 license.