Re: cdrtools - GPL code with CDDL build system

[Måns Rullgård <mru@inprovide.com>]

Don Armstrong <don@debian.org> writes:

> On Sun, 19 Mar 2006, Måns Rullgård wrote:
>> Don Armstrong <don@debian.org> writes:
>> > Not just linking; it's the creation of a derivative work of a
>> > GPLed work. Frankly, I don't see how you can argue that cdrecord
>> > is not a derivative work of the GPLed part of cdrecord and the
>> > build system.
>> 
>> I disagree. The final executable is no more a derivative of the
>> build system than it is of the compiler. After all, no parts of the
>> makefiles end up inside the executable.
>
> The makefiles direct the assembly of the executable, just like the
> source code directs the operation of the compiler. [And indeed, some
> question as to whether some part of the executable is a dirived work
> of the compiler exists as well; luckily there are exceptions in the
> licences of gcc to deal with this case.]
>
> There are multiple different ways that the compiler and assembler can
> be directed by the makefile; quite a large number of them will produce
> an operational executable.

Given only the source files, writing a makefile that will produce a
working executable is fairly simple.  I see makefiles as more of a
convenience than a necessity to build a program.  You might as well
argue that every program in Debian is a derivative of apt and the
package descriptions, since the former uses rules in the latter to
decide what to install.  Again, I say this is just a convenience that
saves users the time to find out and install the dependencies
manually.

-- 
Måns Rullgård
mru@inprovide.com