Re: GNAT GPL 2005 Edition is now available

[Samuel Tardieu <sam@rfc1149.net>]

Sam>  It depends on the Free Software licence you have chosen and what
Sam> kind of distribution you have used. For example, if you choose to
Sam> distribute your program under section 3.b) of the GPL (that is
Sam> provide sources on demand only instead of spontaneously), you have
Sam> to provide *any third party* with a copy of the sources.

Preben> I don't understand. I can make a GPL program and keep it for
Preben> myself or give it to one or two friends. I don't need to give
Preben> it to the rest of the world even if it is GPL.

If you distribute it in binary form only to your friends under the GPL
license and choose to use the 3.b) section of the GPL instead of
giving them the source code, then you have to provide *anyone*
requesting it a copy of the source code at a reasonable fee. This is
meant to encourage you to distribute the source code spontaneously in
a first place. Excerpt:

|   3. You may copy and distribute the Program (or a work based on it,
| under Section 2) in object code or executable form under the terms of
| Sections 1 and 2 above provided that you also do one of the following:
| [...]
|     b) Accompany it with a written offer, valid for at least three
|     years, to give any third party, for a charge no more than your
|     cost of physically performing source distribution, a complete
|     machine-readable copy of the corresponding source code, to be
|     distributed under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above on a medium
|     customarily used for software interchange;

Note the *any third party* in the text above.

  Sam
-- 
Samuel Tardieu -- sam@rfc1149.net -- http://www.rfc1149.net/sam