On Wed, Aug 07, 2002 at 08:53:18AM -0600, Joe Moore wrote:
> [sent only to debian-legal. Comments are program-independant]
> Steve Langasek wrote:
> > Users do not violate the GPL: the GPL does not govern use of a program.
> > But it would be illegal for Debian to *ship* a version of FireBird
> > that uses libreadline.
> On further research, http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#IfLibraryIsGPL
> seems to imply that linking a program to a GPL library (even for personal
> use) means the program must be GPL.
> This seems like a contradiction.
I've noticed that the FSF's GPL FAQ does a rather embarrassing job of
distinguishing between use and distribution/modification. Section 0 of
the GPL says:
Activities other than copying, distribution and modification are not
covered by this License; they are outside its scope. The act of
running the Program is not restricted, and the output from the Program
is covered only if its contents constitute a work based on the
Program (independent of having been made by running the Program).
This clearly trumps anything that might be in the GPL FAQ.
> > That is, if all you need are your private headers and stub library,
> > that's fine -- as long as that's what FireBird uses by default when
> > installed. If FireBird ships with a Depends: libreadlinex, then
> > clearly we are linking against libreadline.
> So would pseudocode like:
> if ( lib = dl_load("libreadline") )
> //Use libreadline code
> else
> //Use internal stub
> lib = dl_load("libreadline_stubs");
> be a way around this? Especially if the program only Suggests: libreadline?
Even if I knew nothing else about the GPL, I would say the answer is "no"
just by virtue of the fact that you're asking for a way to get around the
restriction. By adding this code to the application, you as the
distributor/modifier have had a hand in linking the GPL-incompatible app
to the GPL library, and so your actions are under the purview of the GPL.
Any action to link the app against a GPL lib must be taken entirely by
the user.
In context, you'll find that the FSF also has a FAQ entry about GPL
plug-ins, where they give the same "no" for an answer.
Steve Langasek
postmodern programmer
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