On Wed, Dec 31, 2003 at 08:45:21AM -0600, Steve Greenland wrote: > On 31-Dec-03, 06:08 (CST), Simon Richter <sjr@debian.org> wrote: > > Oliver, > > "Dynamic linking" in the "getting linked at runtime by the dynamic > > linker" is a different matter. Here it is the same thing happening that > > would be happening at the final linker stage when linking statically, > > namely forming a big address space containing both the library and the > > executable code and adjusting adresses to point inside the other module. > > The image now in memory forms a derivative work, thus the executable > > must be under the GPL or linking the executable (i.e. running it) > > violates the library's license. > No it doesn't, unless you try to distribute a dump of the in-memory > image. Repeat after me: "The GPL covers distribution, not use." And the law cares about intent, not software minutiae. If your intentions in bundling dynamically-linked binaries together with GPLed libraries are to do something you couldn't do when static linking, there's a real possibility that a judge would treat them the two types of linking as equivalent. No one has ever claimed that the *user* would be violating the GPL in such a situation, only the party distributing the bundle (read: Debian). -- Steve Langasek postmodern programmer
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