Re: [Firebird-devel] Warning: readline is GPL - incompatible with
On Thu, Aug 08, 2002 at 08:00:43AM -0600, Joe Moore wrote:
> >> Linking them doesn't create a combined work? (According to the GPL
> >> FAQ, it does)
> >
> > Yes, but it's not _creating_ a combined work (or a modified work, or
> > whatever), but _distributing_ it that is the issue.
>
> But that's _not_ clear from the license. (And if there's one thing I've
> learned from debian-legal, it's that the license must make things clear)
>
> Section 1 of the GPL grants permission to "copy and distribute verbatim
> copies".
> Section 2 grants permission to "modify [...], and copy, and distribute".
> Section 3 grants permission to "copy and distribute" in binary form.
> Section 4 forbids all other ways to "copy, modify, sublicense, or
> distribute".
>
> Nowhere in the GPL is permission to "modify without distribution".
>
> The user wants to build an improved version of FireBird, but not distribute
> the results. Does the GPL allow them to link GNU Readline with FireBird
> (but not changing any other aspect of the source) for their own use?
Of course it does. Nowhere is the user in question modifying readline,
or doing anything other than using it in the normal manner.
You seem to be confusing use of readline with modification of firebird.
After being built with readline, the firebird binary does contain bits of
readline. This is relevant only when considering whether and how you might
distribute that resulting binary.
Cheers,
Nick
--
Nick Phillips -- nwp@lemon-computing.com
Today is the last day of your life so far.
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