Re: ada & gui

["John B. Matthews" <nospam@nospam.com>]

In article <m27jf9blo5.fsf@grendel.local>,
 Simon Wright <simon@pushface.org> wrote:

> "Alex R. Mosteo" <devnull@mailinator.com> writes:
> 
> > In short, I guess this mean you can use it as long as you don't
> > modify it, and in that case you must contribute or publish the
> > modification in AWS itself, but not your code. Someone familiar with
> > that license confirm this?
> 
> IANAL, any more than anyone else here, but my take on this is that if
> you use an unmodified GMGPL library there's no impact on your code. If
> however the GMGPL library has to be modified in order for your code to
> work it seems likely that you would have to treat the library as being
> GPL -- so your code would have to be released as (GM)GPL. Or not
> released, of course.

IANAL either, but I have a different take: 

The phrase "your code" may be ambiguous. There's "your code" modifying 
the library, which is clearly covered by the GPL. I'm not so sure about 
"your code" that uses the library.

If you modify a GMGPL library and distribute the modified code, you have 
to provide the modifications, as required by the GPL. Now you choose the 
license under which to redistribute your modified library. The GPL 
requires that you "not impose any further restrictions on the 
recipients' exercise of the rights granted herein." Doesn't that 
preclude your choosing a license that's more restrictive than GMGPL. If 
you redistribute under GMGPL, then your code that uses the library would 
be explicitly exempt from the linking provision, just as it was before 
you started.

I can't help wondering if the GNAT modification was designed to achieve 
just this effect.

-- 
John
jmatthews at wright dot edu
www dot wright dot edu/~john.matthews/