From: Tuomo L. <dj...@ik...> - 2009-06-05 10:26:30
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Will Chappell wrote: > [...Greg] >> I fear your employer may be taking the licensing issues lightly. >> AIUI, you want to link to ginac, which uses the GPL: >> http://www.ginac.de/FAQ.html#otherlicense >> Some potential issues are discussed here: >> http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html >> Requiring users to purchase msvc might solve some problem with >> the ms EULA, yet not with the GPL. > >>From the threads posted earlier containing the Octave information - > > ________________ > - Distribute the the MSVC++ runtime libraries in a separate installer > (then it's mere "aggregation" in the terms of the GPL), or > > - Arrange for the installer to pop up a browser window to the > Microsoft VC++ redistributables download page. > > The last two options are still not following the spirit of the GPL > (because they encourage the installation of closed-source libraries), > but legally not a GPL violation. > ________________ > > I meant something more like the second option here - the installation > process for the tool is already fairly involved, adding such a step > should be trivial. It's not an aggregation, which deals with separate program. You're linking against the libraries, so they are a program component. It doesn't matter how you provide the redistributables. You're still *linking* to them and I don't think they are "operating system libraries". (Ginac uses GPLv2) If you link your program only against libraries found in %SystemRoot%\system32 after a fresh install (+maybe full update), the incompatibility problem goes away. (You will still be required to release the source, though, since ginac is GPL.) In GPLv3, the incompatibility doesn't exist as the definition of system libraries essentially covers all run-time libraries. Aggregation: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#MereAggregation System libraries exception, section 3.c and 1: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.html#section3 http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html#section1 -- Tuomo ... [Learning English by watching the A-Team and ST:TNG] You racing around in a Ford Mustang Shelby, until you eventually crash into some poor guy. Getting out, looking down at the bleeding corps saying. "I pity the fool". Then hailing a cab, getting in and saying "Engage" cabby: "man, your bleeding. Want me to get you to a hospital?" you: "Make it so" -- ChaosDMNS, http://ars.userfriendly.org/ news/read.cgi?id=1208466459&tid=8427 |