Re: [bug-gnulib] gnulib-tool --lgpl exception for self tests?

[Bruno Haible]

Simon Josefsson wrote on 2005-10-25:
> I'm using gnulib-tool --lgpl in some projects.  All of the *-tests
> modules that I wrote recently are GPL.  There isn't really a need for
> these self tests to be available under LGPL, but gnulib-tool complain
> because I used --lgpl.  I think it would be fine to include GPL self
> tests in a LGPL project, so I want gnulib-tool to deal with this
> scenario.

I don't think it makes a big difference for a test to be under GPL
versus LGPL. While normal code can be copied from one package to
another, tests are so closely tied to the code they test that there
is not much reuse possible. Furthermore test code is rarely stored
in executables or libraries for which the GPL would make a difference.

Since it is easier to understand when all files in a package are
under the same license, rather than to say "lib/ is under LGPL and
tests/ under GPL", my vote is to distribute the tests under the same
license as the code.

Bruno