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README-LGPL
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README-LGPL
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If you are in doubt what the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License
(also known as the GNU Library General Public License) mean, the following
two mails may help you:
From gufl0000@stud.uni-sb.de Sun May 30 10:50:13 1999
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From: "Guido Flohr" <gufl0000@stud.uni-sb.de>
Date: Sun, 30 May 1999 12:50:10 +0200
To: "Richard Stallman" <rms@gnu.ai.mit.edu>
Subject: GPL without shared libs
Message-ID: <19990530125010.A588@zowee.rz.uni-sb.de>
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Hi,
I am the current maintainer of the MiNTLib, the standard libc for MiNT.
MiNT is an alternative and free operating system for Atari computers
mostly compatible to *ix operating systems or clones like Linux. One of
the major features still missing are shared libraries and this lack is
responsible for an immense confusion regarding GPLed software in the MiNT
resp. Atari community.
If I understand the GPL correctly (sorry if I don't, English is not my
native language) it is alright to distribute software in binary form that
has unresolved references that get resolved by the dynamic linker into
libraries that are partly or entirely available under the terms of the
GPL (like the GNU libc). Under MiNT - in the absence of shared libraries
or dynamic linking features - linking against GPLed libraries always ends
up in files that physically contain GPLed code in binary, assembled form.
Now there is a wide range of opinions about how to follow the GPL in that
case. The extreme positions are
- If you want to write commercial (non open-source) software with GPLed
libraries you have to include the library sources plus your compiled
object files and leave it to the end user to link the program.
- The GPL only says that you may not modify GPLed code without publishing
your sources. But it is legal to link against GPLed libraries and sell
the resulting programs because the source of the library is still freely
available (the MiNTLib sources are free).
As a result of this uncertainty it has been common practice to strictly
avoid GPLed code in the MiNTLib with some exceptions, for example the
obstack code - which can be easily isolated and avoided by not using it -
is the original GNU obstack code. Additionally the documentation that
comes with the MiNTLib explicitely states that the obstacks are provided
under the terms of the GPL.
I have introduced other GPLed code, like regular expressions, globbing and
pattern matching and these functions have also been marked as GPLed.
The next block of functionality I want to add are i18n and l10n features
and now I am really in a dilemma. The underlying functions for these
features are really central routines, so taking this code from the GNU
libc would result in a library that you cannot link against without
dragging GPLed code into the link. However, I actually don't want to
waste my time for a probably imperfect implementation re-written by
myself, if the GNU libc already contains all the code I need in a
platform-independent manner. So I decided to waste your time instead by
first asking you what to do. ;-)
Any help or clarification is appreciated very much. And would you mind if
I include your answer in the documentation of the MiNTLib so that the
users can be sure of what they are allowed to do and what they are not
allowed to do with the GPLed code?
Thank you in advance
Guido
--
http://stud.uni-sb.de/~gufl0000
mailto:gufl0000@stud.uni-sb.de
From guido Wed Jun 2 22:17:36 1999
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From: Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
To: gufl0000@stud.uni-sb.de
In-reply-to: <19990530125010.A588@zowee.rz.uni-sb.de>
(gufl0000@stud.uni-sb.de)
Subject: Re: GPL without shared libs
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If I understand the GPL correctly (sorry if I don't, English is not my
native language) it is alright to distribute software in binary form that
has unresolved references that get resolved by the dynamic linker into
libraries that are partly or entirely available under the terms of the
GPL
No, that is not allowed. Any program that depends on linking in a
GPL-covered module must *as a whole* be covered by the GPL. Thus, the
program must be free. It makes no difference whether the linking is
static or dynamic, and no difference whether the module is stored in
the form of a library or a plain .o file.
(like the GNU libc).
GNU libc is covered by the LGPL, NOT the GPL.
So what I wrote above does not apply to GNU libc.
The LGPL permits linking GNU libc with non-free programs;
once again, both static and dynamic linking are permitted.
- If you want to write commercial (non open-source) software with GPLed
libraries
You can use GPL-covered libraries in a commercial program if the
commercial program satisfies the terms of the GPL--the same criterion
as in noncommercial software. Our licenses do not discriminate
between commercial software, academic software, and software written
as an avocation. That isn't a relevant consideration.
Perhaps when you wrote "commercial" you really meant "non-free".
In that case, the answer to your question is that a GPL-covered
library cannot be used in a non-free program. See above.
Please don't identify "commercial" with "non-free". It is important
for people to know that commercial free software is possible, and that
some already exists. See
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/categories.html for definitions.
(I cannot comment about "open source" because I am not involved with
the open source movement. What I do is free software--see
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-for-freedom.html.)
I have introduced other GPLed code, like regular expressions, globbing and
pattern matching and these functions have also been marked as GPLed.
If these functions are covered by the GPL, you should inform users
that only GPL-compatible programs can use these functions.
However, if these functions are found in GNU libc, they are available
also under the LGPL. You might want to get the copies that are
released under the LGPL and use those instead.
=============================================================================
Note: The above mentioned functions are now taken in their LGPL's version
for the MiNTLib.