gnu-misc-discuss
[Top][All Lists]
Advanced

[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Is it possible to write GPL-Modules for closed-source Software?


From: Stephan Kuhagen
Subject: Is it possible to write GPL-Modules for closed-source Software?
Date: Wed, 02 Aug 2006 18:05:34 +0200
User-agent: KNode/0.10.2

Hello

Subject says it all... I'm working for an Institute/Company which does
scientific and medical imaging software. We have some OpenSource-Addicts in
the house (with me as the most addicted...) and try to bring at least some
of our software to the OpenSource-World. Now there is our
"Premium"-Software, that will stay closed source for long time (although we
try our best to convince the others...). If we can not release the software
under the GPL, we like to release at least some of it's modules under the
GPL. 

The software does not really need those modules, so it is not dependend on
them. The modules (there are hundreds of them) are loaded at runtime, not
statically linked. 

Can I write a module, using the proprietary API of the software and release
it under the GPL? The GPL-modules would be available as precompiled module
for Windows/Linux/MacOSX and as source. I like to pack them into the
commercial installer (including the source of the module, of course) also,
but this is not required.

Is this possible without violating GPL, or is there no way to "undermine"
the closed-source-philosophy step-by-step...?

Regards
Stephan


reply via email to

[Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread]