Re: [ng-spice] Readline Response


To ng-spice@ieee.ing.uniroma1.it
From Manu Rouat <emmanuel.rouat@wanadoo.fr>
Date Thu, 26 Aug 1999 22:56:09 +0200
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Kev wrote:


> BTW, on the 'readline' subject, most of Linux is GPL'd but people sell
> applictions that run on it. Those applications use GPL'd run-time
> libraries and support (e.g. XFree86), so not 'mixing' code licenses does
> not seem to apply consistently, i.e. run-time dynamic loading of
> differently licensed libraries does not seem to be a problem. 

Linux is GPL'd but Linus states explicitely in the license that :

" NOTE! This copyright does *not* cover user programs that use kernel
 services by normal system calls - this is merely considered normal use
 of the kernel, and does *not* fall under the heading of "derived work".
 Also note that the GPL below is copyrighted by the Free Software
 Foundation, but the instance of code that it refers to (the Linux
 kernel) is copyrighted by me and others who actually wrote it."

so the linux kernel is not a good example (neither is XFree86 BTW), all 
ambiguity between 'normal use' of the kernel and 'derived work' being
suppressed by that note.


So if
> you want to use 'readline' etc. it should be OK to supply a build that uses
> those libraries if they are installed - what you can't do is cut & paste
> the code or statically link it and deliver the resulting executable.

Wrong - you cannot even link dynamically to it. In the LGPL it is stated 
that: 
 

 "The reason we have a separate public license for some libraries is that
they blur the distinction we usually make between modifying or adding to a
program and simply using it.  Linking a program with a library, without
changing the library, is in some sense simply using the library, and is
analogous to running a utility program or application program.  However, in
a textual and legal sense, the linked executable is a combined work, a
derivative of the original library, and the ordinary General Public License
treats it as such."

This means that we would need the readline library to be LGPL'd rather than 
GPL'd
to link ngspice against it (or ngspice to be GPL'd)



manu


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