Re: [Madwifi-devel] Kernel patches.

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On Thu, Apr 01, 2004 at 02:38:51PM -0700, Shane Spencer wrote:
> Then I don't understand the hal.
> 
> The parts I am talking about are these.
> CVS/                        i386-elf.opt_ah.h         
> powerpc-be-eabi.opt_ah.h
> Makefile.inc                mipsisa32-be-elf.hal.o.uu 
> powerpc-le-eabi.hal.o.uu
> ah_osdep.c                  mipsisa32-be-elf.inc      
> powerpc-le-eabi.inc
> ah_osdep.h                  mipsisa32-be-elf.opt_ah.h 
> powerpc-le-eabi.opt_ah.h
> arm9-le-thumb-elf.hal.o.uu  mipsisa32-le-elf.hal.o.uu 
> xscale-be-elf.hal.o.uu
> arm9-le-thumb-elf.inc       mipsisa32-le-elf.inc       xscale-be-elf.inc
> arm9-le-thumb-elf.opt_ah.h  mipsisa32-le-elf.opt_ah.h 
> xscale-be-elf.opt_ah.h
> i386-elf.hal.o.uu           powerpc-be-eabi.hal.o.uu
> i386-elf.inc                powerpc-be-eabi.inc
> 
> which can be handled by the kernel firmware loader..  right?  it doesn't
> need to be firmware to be loaded by the firmware driver I would think..
> since all the firmware upload code belongs to each individual driver.  

Even if it can be handled by the firmware loader, you are probably not
allowed to do so.

The HAL is a non-GPL binary. *How* you make the connection with the kernel
probably does not matter - if you load the hal.o module "as is" or via the
firmware loader, it is machine code which is accessed by GPL code (the
kernel or some driver that is linked into the kernel).

IANAL, but I guess the connection might be tight enough that it may be
considered "linking" in legal terms, and that means you can't do this
because the HAL licence is not GPL-compatible. It does not really matter
*how* the actual linking is done - just because you load it via some
firmware loader instead of the normal kernel module loader should not change
the legal situation.

If you have not yet done so, I suggest you read Linus' clarification at
http://lkml.org/lkml/2003/12/3/228

Furthermore, I really see not good reason to spend development effort in
that area when there are other parts of the driver that need work more
desparately.

cu
Michael
-- 
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 technical papers as an illustration of the problematic methods of technical
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