>>>>> On Tue, 6 Aug 2002 08:08:52 -0600 (MDT), "Joe Moore" <joemoore@iegrec.org> said:
> Thomas Bushnell, BSG wrote:
>> Boris Veytsman <borisv@lk.net> writes:
>>> A hypothetical question. LaTeX has a facility of patching at compile
>>> time -- the loading of system-wide or user-wide .cfg files. Would you
>>> consider LaTeX license DFSG-free if it would explicitly mention this
>>> patching facility?
>>
>> It's not about what gets mentioned or not.
>>
>> But can I modify the behavior of any part of LaTeX, including what
>> happens when I load article.sty?
> Yes. But in order to do so, you either have to:
> 1) request such a change in your document (\documentclass{myarticle}, or
> \renewcommand\documentclass or something like that)
That doesn't meet the stated goal, of silently changing what happens
when \documentclass{article} is used to load a file called article.sty.
> or
> 2) Modify latex.ltx so that it looks for myarticle.sty when a document asks
> for article.sty (but since latex.ltx is covered by the LPPL, you would have
> to change the name of it, invoking it by a different name such as
> notLaTeX)
Again, that doesn't meet the stated goal, since it requires a file
myarticle.sty and doesn't actually load article.sty.
> or
> 3) Place your modified article.sty in a different location, where "pristine"
> LaTeX will not pick it up and behave silently different.
That's a requirement which restricts the functional modifications
which may be made, and additionally does not appear in any LPPL draft
I've seen. I'd *love* to get a look at the latest draft, since I
think it might clear up some of the confusion on both sides.
Oh, and you forgot
4) Create a new article.sty and drop it into place. If what's been
said about each representation in LaTeX code having a wholly
different meaning, creative expression in the language is
impossible, and you could crib a great deal from article.sty (which
Frank's asserted is purely functional, and not a creative work)
without violating any copyrights.
-Brian
--
Brian Sniffen bts@akamai.com
Security Engineer day: (617) 444-2642 cel: (617) 721-0927
Akamai Technologies eve: (617) 354-1526 pi: (314) 159-2654
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