Re: [Fxruby-users] Licensing question - I can make money, right?

[Christopher S. <csa...@pa...>]

On Mon, 02 Feb 2004 05:39, Rich wrote:
> I've looked into the FXRuby license (LGPL) and the FOX license (modified
> LGPL).
>
> Other than that - a program using FXRuby would have the OpenGL file
> included, which has no license for software developers...
>
> ... so - those are all of the licenses - right?
No, on Linux you forget the LGPL licence on the glibc library which underlies 
the whole kit and kaboodle.

> If I understand the LGPL correctly, I can use LGPL'd work in my standalone
> EXE and not have to license my work under LGPL at all.
No, not necessarily, it depends.

> I can close the source for all of my work - right?
Yes, of _your_ work, but not that of the other contributors if they have 
licenced their work under the LGPL.

The spirit of the LGPL is that it allows you to distribute your work 
secretively, yet at the same time it gives the end user the right to upgrade 
the LGPL licenced libraries to which your work is linked. This, in effect, 
means that you have to distribute your work as a binary which dynamically 
loads the LGPL licenced libraries as shared object libraries. Static linking 
the whole application in a GNU environment is not allowed. In practice this 
only applies on Linux and if using cygwin under Windows, because on the other 
platforms the libc library is either a commercially licenced product, e.g. on 
MS Windows, or is subject to the BSD licence which allows you to do more or 
less whatever you want, provided you don't (ab)use the name of the Regents or 
other contributors in advertising.

-- 
Sincerely etc.
Christopher Sawtell

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