Re: generated source files, GPL and DFSG

[David Nusinow <david_nusinow@verizon.net>]

On Sat, Jul 23, 2005 at 09:50:56AM -0700, Ken Arromdee wrote:
> On Sat, 23 Jul 2005, David Nusinow wrote:
> > This is true, but not because the driver isn't commented. It's because the
> > specs for the card have not been released, and as such we don't know what
> > the magic numbers mean. The hardware specs are entirely external to the
> > source code for the driver itself, and as such it doesn't affect the
> > freeness of the driver.
> 
> If the guys at Nvidia maintain the driver by referring to a separate copy of
> the hardware specs and copying numbers from it into the driver when needed,
> then the hardware specs are external to the source code of the driver.
> 
> If the guys at Nvidia maintain the driver by maintaining a version of the
> code which has symbols in it, and give the driver to us by removing the
> symbols, then to the extent which the symbols provide information about the
> specs, the specs are *not* external to the source of the driver.

But understanding it is contingent on those specs. You have all the rights
to modify the code that is the nv driver as it is under a Free license.
Upstream also likely keeps the driver in revision control with its own set
of comments and metadata that they use to maintain the driver, but not
having access to that does not qualify the thing as non-free.

 - David Nusinow