On Fri, 30 Jan 2009 11:32:19 -0800, Darren New wrote:

> Jim Henderson wrote:
>> You can link to GPL libraries.  There are plenty of examples of this.
> 
> Then what's the LGPL for?

Provides some additional options.

> Note that OpenAL is apparently LGPL, so it specifically says you can
> link to it without invoking the GPL.

Yes, but again, linking to something that's GPL'ed doesn't mean your 
program has to be GPL'ed.  I used OpenAL as an example, probably not the 
best example given that it is LGPL.

>> What you cannot do is incorporate GPL-licensed code into non-GPL
>> licensed code.
> 
> Define "incorporate"? Look at the first paragraph of
> http://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses/why-not-lgpl.html

I write this:

void main(void)
{
	puts("do something here");
	/* Call a bunch of other functions */
}

You write code and you use some/all of my code in your code.  My code is 
released under the GPL, now yours must be as well because you're using 
the source code I wrote in your code/product.

> It doesn't sound like the FSF agrees with you.
> 
>> There is, AFAIK, one single exception - if you own the code, you can
>> dual- license it.
> 
> Unless it's a plug-in for GCC.

Well, argue that with the GNU foundation, I would agree that the root of 
this debate is suspicious.  It seems, though, they're trying to do 
something similar to the Linux kernel's "tainted" flag with the compiler, 
but pushing it to a new level.

>> But if you're building something large and you want to leverage code
>> others have written, you have to respect their license terms (whatever
>> that license is, not just if it's GPL).
> 
> Agreed. I'm not arguing the GPL is a bad thing, even. I'm simply
> pointing out that a lot of the slogans promoted by FSF supporters are
> wrong.
> 
> The gcc changes aren't aimed at making sure the plug-ins are "free
> software". They're aimed at making sure the plug-ins are "copyleft".

Well, as the authors of gcc, surely they have the right to extend the 
license terms in whatever way they see fit.

Jim

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