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<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">Josh Lefler
Lefler, Inc.
Phone: 314-754-8719
Toll-Free: 877-242-8558
Website: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.leflerinc.com">www.leflerinc.com</a>
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Colin Guthrie wrote:
<blockquote cite="mid453A5E4B.6070107@colin.guthr.ie" type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Josh Lefler wrote:
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Ivan, IANAL, but MythTV itself is released under the GPL. Since it isn't
possible to use GPLed code in a project that is not GPL. releasing a
plugin under another license would at least require reimplementing large
parts of MythTV that plugins depend on and at worst be impossible
without rewriting MythTV itself.
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre wrap=""><!---->
While IAANAL, that is not my understanding of the GPL. I thought that
you it is perfectly OK to *use* GPL'ed code in other projects, provided
that any *modification* you make to that code are also released under
the GPL.
</pre>
</blockquote>
I must respectfully disagree. I believe the licensing concept you are
describing is that of the LGPL. From
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#GPLInProprietarySystem">http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#GPLInProprietarySystem</a><br>
<br>
"
You cannot incorporate GPL-covered software in a proprietary system.
The goal of the GPL is to grant everyone the freedom to copy,
redistribute, understand, and modify a program. If you could
incorporate GPL-covered software into a non-free system, it would have
the effect of making the GPL-covered software non-free too.
<p>A system incorporating a GPL-covered program is an extended version
of
that program. The GPL says that any extended version of the program
must be released under the GPL if it is released at all. This is for
two reasons: to make sure that users who get the software get the
freedom they should have, and to encourage people to give back
improvements that they make."</p>
<blockquote cite="mid453A5E4B.6070107@colin.guthr.ie" type="cite">
<pre wrap="">In the case of writing and distributing a plugin, as I understand it at
least, it would be perfectly OK to use whichever license the user wants
on that particular bit of code.
As far as any changed the plugin required in the core mythtv, it is
unlikely that:
a) Ivan will *need* to modify mythtv anyway
b) Ivan would *want* to modify mythtv *without* releasing his changes
under the GPL.
Either way that sounds OK to me.
</pre>
</blockquote>
Even if he doesn't change MythTV, his plugin would still contain the
binary representation of certain components of mythtv that linked in at
compile-time. In this way, he'd be mixing free and non-free software.<br>
<blockquote cite="mid453A5E4B.6070107@colin.guthr.ie" type="cite">
<pre wrap=""></pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap="">For example. plugins must link to certain mythTV components to receive
input notifications, to use Myth's database utilities, etc. If your
component is not GPL, it would have to reimplement each of these
libraries independently. It wouldn't so much be a plugin as a separate
program that happens to be called from a menu item.
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre wrap=""><!---->
While I cannot be bothered to look for examples, I am sure there are
hundreds of applications that link against and use GPL libraries in
commercial applications. Like I say I think it's perfectly OK to use
GPL'ed code/libs in your (alternatively licensed) applications provided
that any specific changes you made to GPL'ed code were made available
under the GPL license (even if they would be effectively useless to
anyone due to their specific tailoring to your commercial app's needs)
</pre>
</blockquote>
Thats the purpose of the LGPL - to allow closed-source products to use
open-sourced libraries. However, the GPL and the LGPL are very
different beasts.<br>
<blockquote cite="mid453A5E4B.6070107@colin.guthr.ie" type="cite">
<pre wrap="">
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap="">May I ask what license you are considering using?
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre wrap=""><!---->
I am also as curious as a dead feline. :)
Col.
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