Put the source code up too !
Sorry to (sort of) bring licence politics into this, but:
In article <[🔎] 20020120174656.B8578@srcf.ucam.org>,
Matthew Garrett <mjg59@srcf.ucam.org> wrote:
>The source for apt is at http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~mjg59/debian-netbsd/apt
>- I believe that the only changes I made to it were some patches from the
>fink project to get it to believe that the system was
>Debian. http://fink.sourceforge.net/bindist/dists/fink-0.3.2a/main/finkinfo/base/apt-0.5.4-1.patch
>has them - it was the stuff in deb/ that needed patching. I may also have
>needed to tell it to treat NetBSD like OpenBSD.
I'm assuming that what you mean is that you applied the fink patches,
fiddled with it a bit, built the resulting .deb, and put it up for
download. This seems to be the case, because the fink patch applies
cleanly to the dsc/tar.gz that you're offering for download.
But, the GPL says:
3. You may copy and distribute [a] work based on [the Program], in
object code or executable form [...] provided that you also [...]:
a) Accompany it with the complete corresponding machine-readable
source code, [...]
[...]
For an executable work, complete source code [includes] the scripts
used to control compilation and installation of the executable. [...]
Matthew, if you had not violated the GPL by distributing binaries
without complete corresponding source code, Richard would probably
have been in a much better position. Consider your wrist slapped.
On the other hand, in my book getting involved with Debian/BSD is such
a good thing anyway you're still quite a way ahead in points :-).
Richard asks:
> [Matthew]: Is it possible to do some kind of source upload, no
> matter how unclean? In fact, if you do an unclean "package" (ie, tar
> up everything in sight and put it someplace) then I am willing to go
> through and sort it out into patches.
In fact, if you are unable to produce a `proper' Debian source
package, then I think the GPL requires you to do as he suggests.
Furthermore, in the early stages of a porting project access to other
peoples' build trees can be very useful, and I'd recommend uploading
them if you can even if you can also produce a proper source archive.
Ian.
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