Re: lumikki

[David Given <dg@...>]

Asko Kauppi wrote:
> 14.10.2004 kello 13:29, Adam D. Moss kirjoitti:
>  Asko Kauppi wrote:
> > >  >Lumikki is released under the GPL license. You are free to use the 
> > > software in any project, for any purpose, as long as you don't (need 
> > > to) make modifications to it. If you need to modify, you also need to 
> > > provide the modifications to others that might benefit from them. 
> > > This is how GPL works in a nutshell.
[...]
> > Okay, hate to butt in -- but no, that isn't how the GPL works
> > in a nutshell!  That's a rather closer description of how the LGPL
> > works in the nutshell, but is still missing some essential
> > restrictions.  If those are the actual terms you wish to release
> > Lumikki under then you might want to consider another license.
[...]
> What exactly do you think is non-GPL in my interpretation?  Lot of 
> commercial software is done using gcc; where does this differ?

Briefly:

a) The GPL has *nothing* to say about what you can do or not do with the 
software. It is concerned solely with redistributing the software. If you're 
not going to redistribute it, nothing the GPL says is of any interest to you.

b) You may redistribute unchanged copies of the software at will.

d) You may redistribute changed copies of the software at will if and only if 
you license your changes under the GPL.

Note that (c) only applies if you are *redistributing changed versions*. You 
make any modifications you like, up to and including pasting in big chunks of 
confidential code that noone must see, provided you don't redistribute the result.

The viral aspect of the GPL kicks in like this: say you write a 100'000 line 
program. The program relies on 500 lines copied from a piece of GPLd software. 
Now all 100'500 lines of the result is considered to be a derivative product 
of that piece of GPLd software --- therefore you may only redistribute the 
whole thing in one package if you ensure that the 100'000 lines that you own 
are also GPLd.

Of course, you're free not to distribute it if you don't want to.

You're also free the distribute your 100'000 lines under your own license and 
include instructions about where to get the 500 lines of GPLd software and how 
to put them in.

The LGPL is a more relaxed version designed for libraries that's not quite as 
aggressive; I'm not entirely sure of the details of the differences, however.

--
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