Re: Bug#353277: ndiswrapper in main
On 26 Mar 2006, Raul Miller told this:
> The ambiguity is in the resolution's interpretation of the quoted
> policy:
>
> ... must not require a package outside of _main_ for
> compilation or execution ...
>
> Does no-operation or substandard operation satisfy requirements for
> execution?
Well, yes. Consider the case that I write up a compiler for a
new language in C++ or ruby. Can I put this compiler in main? Even
if there is no public repository of code in this new language?
My sense is yes, a compiler does not need the presence of code
in order to be free -- as long as the license of the code itself is
free.
Should this change if I were to put code out there in the new
language under a non-free license? I think not. Should things change
again if I put freely licensed code on a web page? If I packaged that
code for Debian? In my opinion, no.
What if it was not a compiler, but an emulator of a virtual
machine? Until there is code that can run on the virtual machine,
there is nothing for the emulator to show.
ndiswrapper seems to fall into similar situation:
/usr/sbin/ndiswrapper -i filename.inf
/usr/sbin/ndiswrapper -l
/usr/sbin/ndiswrapper -m
depmod -a
modprobe ndiswrapper
Looks very similar to a tool chain invocation: compile, link,
install.
The only argument I have seen so far seems to imply that I
can't package up new emulators or compilers unless I also provide
free source code for these to process, I am not sure I think that
expands freedom in any tangible manner.
manoj
--
"Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think
about." Whorf
Manoj Srivastava <srivasta@debian.org> <http://www.debian.org/%7Esrivasta/>
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