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From: Corey Minyard <minyard@acm.org>
Subject: Re: Open Source Licensing (was: Wanted: Ada STL. Reward: Ada's Future)
Date: 1999/02/08
Date: 1999-02-08T00:00:00+00:00	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <m2btj4hbbs.fsf@wf-rch.cirr.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: 79nfkk$gpf$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com

dennison@telepath.com writes:
> >
> > What is the problem with the LGPL?  I used that for my components.  It
> > allows inclusion into 3rd party programs without releasing source to
> > that 3rd party program.  It does require that you distribute (or tell
> > how to get) the included library.  If you make any changes to the
> > LGPL'ed library, you are also required to give the changes away.
> 
> According to section 5(p2), an executable linked with LGPL software is a
> "derivative of the Library", and thus must be distributed under the rules in
> section 6.
> 
> Section 6 seems to require that licensing terms for such derivatives must
> allow users to reverse-engineer the executable. That is incompatable with a
> typical closed-source license.

Right to reverse-engineer is guaranteed by law in the US (Nintento vs
Galoob).  What the licenses say means nothing.  US Congress is working
to change that, but maybe they can be stopped.

> 
> Paragraph 3 of section 6 looks like it would require a Windows user to
> provide a linker to anyone they distribute the executable to!

A DLL or shared library should be sufficient to meet this requirement.
The paragraph after paragraph d) in that section states that you don't
have to give them the linkers, compilers, etc.

How a generic might fit into this would be questionable.  Would it be
a "definition file" and thus recompiling would not be possible as
stated in that paragraph?  I'd guess so.

This would be the biggest restriction that might cause me to abandon
the LGPL.  It does seem a little excessive and might cause headaches
for a company supporting a product.

> 
> I also am not quite sure how a child package would be accounted for here.
> Would a court decide that is a modification to the library itself, or simply
> a "work that uses the Library"?

Difficult to say.  But if people are adding child packages to my
library, I want them to give me the new packages, since they are
extending my library.

-- 
Corey Minyard                   Internet:  minyard@acm.org
  Work: minyard@nortelnetworks.com  UUCP:  minyard@wf-rch.cirr.com




  reply	other threads:[~1999-02-08  0:00 UTC|newest]

Thread overview: 102+ messages / expand[flat|nested]  mbox.gz  Atom feed  top
1999-01-31  0:00 Wanted: Ada STL. Reward: Ada's Future Alexy V Khrabrov
1999-01-31  0:00 ` Simon Wright
1999-02-01  0:00 ` Jeff Carter
1999-02-08  0:00   ` Michael F Brenner
1999-02-01  0:00 ` dennison
1999-02-01  0:00 ` Jerry van Dijk
1999-02-01  0:00   ` Marin David Condic
1999-02-01  0:00 ` Stanley R. Allen
1999-02-01  0:00 ` Matthew Heaney
1999-02-01  0:00   ` Alexy V Khrabrov
1999-02-01  0:00     ` Matthew Heaney
1999-02-01  0:00       ` Jeff Carter
1999-02-01  0:00 ` Brian Rogoff
1999-02-01  0:00   ` Ehud Lamm
1999-02-02  0:00     ` Brian Rogoff
1999-02-02  0:00       ` robert_dewar
1999-02-04  0:00         ` Ehud Lamm
1999-02-03  0:00       ` John English
1999-02-03  0:00         ` Matthew Heaney
1999-02-03  0:00           ` Brian Rogoff
1999-02-04  0:00             ` Stephen Leake
1999-02-04  0:00               ` Matthew Heaney
1999-02-04  0:00               ` Brian Rogoff
1999-02-05  0:00                 ` Stephen Leake
1999-02-05  0:00                   ` Brian Rogoff
1999-02-04  0:00               ` Hyman Rosen
1999-02-05  0:00                 ` Stephen Leake
1999-02-05  0:00                   ` Hyman Rosen
1999-02-05  0:00               ` John English
1999-02-05  0:00                 ` Tucker Taft
1999-02-05  0:00                   ` Brian Rogoff
1999-02-05  0:00                   ` Richard D Riehle
1999-02-05  0:00                 ` Brian Rogoff
1999-02-06  0:00                   ` Matthew Heaney
1999-02-05  0:00           ` John English
1999-02-05  0:00           ` Nick Roberts
1999-02-04  0:00         ` Ehud Lamm
1999-02-04  0:00           ` Al Christians
1999-02-04  0:00           ` Pat Rogers
1999-02-04  0:00             ` Larry Kilgallen
1999-02-04  0:00               ` Pat Rogers
1999-02-04  0:00                 ` Larry Kilgallen
1999-02-05  0:00                   ` robert_dewar
1999-02-05  0:00                     ` Tom Moran
1999-02-05  0:00                       ` dewar
1999-02-05  0:00                         ` Tom Moran
1999-02-05  0:00                           ` dewar
1999-02-05  0:00                             ` dennison
1999-02-06  0:00                               ` dewar
1999-02-08  0:00                                 ` dennison
1999-02-08  0:00                                   ` robert_dewar
1999-02-08  0:00                                     ` dennison
1999-02-09  0:00                                       ` robert_dewar
1999-02-09  0:00                                         ` dennison
1999-02-09  0:00                                     ` Nick Roberts
1999-02-07  0:00                               ` Simon Wright
1999-02-08  0:00                               ` Corey Minyard
1999-02-08  0:00                                 ` Open Source Licensing (was: Wanted: Ada STL. Reward: Ada's Future) dennison
1999-02-08  0:00                                   ` Corey Minyard [this message]
1999-02-09  0:00                                     ` dennison
1999-02-09  0:00                                       ` Corey Minyard
1999-02-09  0:00                                     ` robert_dewar
1999-02-09  0:00                                       ` Corey Minyard
1999-02-09  0:00                                 ` Wanted: Ada STL. Reward: Ada's Future robert_dewar
1999-02-09  0:00                                   ` dennison
1999-02-10  0:00                                     ` robert_dewar
1999-02-07  0:00                           ` Simon Wright
1999-02-05  0:00                     ` Larry Kilgallen
     [not found]                     ` <36ba730b.35540068@ <79fmg1$fn0$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com>
1999-02-06  0:00                       ` Larry Kilgallen
1999-02-05  0:00                 ` robert_dewar
1999-02-05  0:00               ` robert_dewar
1999-02-05  0:00                 ` Larry Kilgallen
1999-02-05  0:00                   ` robert_dewar
1999-02-05  0:00                     ` dennison
1999-02-05  0:00                       ` robert_dewar
1999-02-05  0:00                         ` dennison
1999-02-06  0:00                       ` Nick Roberts
1999-02-05  0:00                     ` Tucker Taft
     [not found]                     ` <79f24e$t14 <36BB4162.52FC6D9F@averstar.com>
1999-02-05  0:00                       ` dennison
1999-02-05  0:00                       ` robert_dewar
1999-02-04  0:00           ` Brian Rogoff
1999-02-05  0:00             ` Matthew Heaney
1999-02-05  0:00               ` Brian Rogoff
1999-02-08  0:00                 ` John English
1999-02-05  0:00           ` John English
1999-02-09  0:00             ` micro_ada
1999-02-05  0:00         ` Nick Roberts
1999-02-08  0:00           ` John English
1999-02-02  0:00     ` Pointer Arithmetic (was: Wanted: Ada STL....) adam
1999-02-02  0:00       ` William Clodius
1999-02-03  0:00         ` adam
1999-02-03  0:00           ` robert_dewar
1999-02-03  0:00             ` Jean-Pierre Rosen
1999-02-03  0:00           ` Nick Roberts
1999-02-03  0:00           ` William Clodius
1999-02-03  0:00       ` Nick Roberts
1999-02-03  0:00         ` robert_dewar
1999-02-03  0:00           ` Robert A Duff
1999-02-03  0:00       ` robert_dewar
1999-02-02  0:00     ` Wanted: Ada STL. Reward: Ada's Future Richard D Riehle
1999-02-03  0:00       ` robert_dewar
1999-02-05  0:00 ` Corey Minyard
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