Re: [Lcms-user] need for a new release

[Daniel R. <da...@ph...>]

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Bob Friesenhahn wrote:
| On Mon, 17 Nov 2003, John Cupitt wrote:
|
|
|>For curiosity, could someone explain the commercial objections to
|>LGPL (or suggest a link)? Libraries such as gtk are LGPL and they
|>seem to used commercially without problems (as far as I know).
|
|
| If the commercial use of LGPLed libraries targets operating systems
| that include the libraries (e.g. Linux includes Gtk), then there is
| reduced/little concern.  If the library needs to be added to the
| environment (e.g. LCMS under Windows or even LCMS under Linux since
| LCMS is not yet standard under Linux) then the vendor takes the full
| responsibility for LGPL upon his self, including allowing the user to
| reverse-engineer his application.

This is just plain wrong.  reverse-engineering has nothing to do with
coverage under the LGPL.  reverse-engineering is simply a protected
freedom (at least here in the united states).

| If LCMS is built into the application as a static library, then the
| vendor would need to provide either his proprietary sources, or
| pre-built objects corresponding to his sources, so that the user is
| able to re-link the application (as required by LGPL).

This is only a partial truth.  If LCMS is staticlly linked then you may
do the above or you can simply provide a version of your binary that is
dynamically linked to the same LCMS version that was staticlly linked.

Note that you probably have to do this anyway (at least on linux),
simply because the standard C library on linux (glibc) is covered under
the lgpl.  (And I'd like to see somebody get away without using that!!)

For example, quake3 from id software provides a staticlly linked binary
and a dynamic one in the same directory when quake3 is installed.


As for commerical implications, there are very few.  All you really need
to do is provide the sources to the version of the lgpl libraries that
you use upon request (including glibc!) and provide a dynamiclly linked
version of your executable (which you will probably do anyway).  In
practice, very few of your uses will actually ask for the sources, and
if you are wise, you can simply include a tarball of the lcms sources on
your installion cd.

- --
Dan
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