From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,565d6a6c6ff7cb37 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2001-05-02 19:07:21 PST Path: newsfeed.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!sn-xit-01!supernews.com!newshub2.rdc1.sfba.home.com!news.home.com!news1.rdc1.sfba.home.com.POSTED!not-for-mail From: tmoran@acm.org Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: GPL and Plug-INs and XML\Ada References: X-Newsreader: Tom's custom newsreader Message-ID: Date: Thu, 03 May 2001 02:07:21 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 24.20.190.201 X-Complaints-To: abuse@home.net X-Trace: news1.rdc1.sfba.home.com 988855641 24.20.190.201 (Wed, 02 May 2001 19:07:21 PDT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 02 May 2001 19:07:21 PDT Organization: Excite@Home - The Leader in Broadband http://home.com/faster Xref: newsfeed.google.com comp.lang.ada:7111 Date: 2001-05-03T02:07:21+00:00 List-Id: >question on a Windows CVS mailing list; apparently the Free Software >Foundation position is that a "dll" (which stands for Dynamic Link >Library) is _linked_, which is the term used in the GPL. So GPL dlls A linker is a utility that merges multiple object files together into a single executable file. That exe file could be distributed. A loader takes a file containing a chunk of code and brings it into memory, possibly relocating addresses and such, so the code can be executed. (A "linking loader" does both.) So a DLL, regardless of the name Microsoft gave it, is a module which can be loaded and executed. It is not "linked" to become part of distributable object, but is loaded to be executed. A DLL is basically the same as a subroutine on a library tape, to be loaded dynamically by a program that needs to use it. So, unless the word "linked" is specifically defined within the GPL to have a non-standard meaning, it must be understood in the way it's normally been used in software for the last 40 years. A DLL is loaded, not linked.