Re: ITP:Bug#460591 - Falcon P.L. license

[Walter Landry <walter@geodynamics.org>]

Giancarlo Niccolai <gc@falconpl.org> wrote:
> I am working now at this. However, I have a notice in every file
> stating that the file is released under the terms described in the
> "LICENSE" file that must come bound with the sources. I think that
> changing the content of that file, instead of changing the contents of
> each source (there are several hundreds) may be enough. Can you
> confirm this or is putting a more descriptive license statement in
> each source a requirement?

I opened up a random file in the 0.8.8 release, and I found

/*
   FALCON - The Falcon Programming Language
   FILE: indirect.cpp
   $Id: indirect.cpp,v 1.6 2007/03/04 17:39:03 jonnymind Exp $

   Indirect function calling and symbol access.
   -------------------------------------------------------------------
   Author: Giancarlo Niccolai
   Begin: gio apr 13 2006
   Last modified because:

   -------------------------------------------------------------------
   (C) Copyright 2004: the FALCON developers (see list in AUTHORS file)

   See LICENSE file for licensing details.
   In order to use this file in its compiled form, this source or
   part of it you have to read, understand and accept the conditions
   that are stated in the LICENSE file that comes boundled with this
   package.
*/

This is not quite accurate, since you do not have to accept the GPL to
use the code.  You only have to accept it if you make copies.  The
current wording makes your intent unclear.  If you just had

  "See LICENSE file for licensing details."

then that would be fine.  If the file ever gets separated from the
LICENSE file, it may be difficult to figure out its license.  But that
is not critical for you.

Cheers,
Walter Landry
walter@geodynamics.org