Re: Users-prolog Digest, Vol 85, Issue 4

[Duncan Patton a Campbell]

On Tue, 13 Jul 2010 12:00:43 -0400
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> Today's Topics:
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>    1. License questions (Alexander Wolfe)
>    2. Re: License questions (Daniel Savard)
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> Message: 1
> Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:42:50 -0700
> From: Alexander Wolfe <address@hidden>
> Subject: License questions
> To: address@hidden
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> I have a couple of questions about the use of gprolog compiled programs. I
> understand that gprolog is GPL software and that any modified version of its
> codebase would be required to be released under a GPL compatible license.
> What about programs compiled with gprolog? I know that gcc does not restrict
> compiled programs to the GPL. What is the case here?
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> -Alex
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> Message: 2
> Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:21:54 -0400
> From: Daniel Savard <address@hidden>
> Subject: Re: License questions
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> 2010/7/12 Alexander Wolfe <address@hidden>:
> > I have a couple of questions about the use of gprolog compiled programs. I
> > understand that gprolog is GPL software and that any modified version of its
> > codebase would be required to be released under a GPL compatible license.
> > What about programs compiled with gprolog? I know that gcc does not restrict
> > compiled programs to the GPL. What is the case here?
> >
> 
> 
> The answer is obvious, same license same terms. A license cannot
> pretend to acquire rights on the original work of others. The idea of
> a license is to protect something and in this case, the GNU-Prolog
> compiler.
> 
> I know there is some copyrights and intellectual property lawyers
> which are dessiminating the idea the GPL license extend to everything
> developped using OSS. But they are wrong. There is plenty of examples
> they are.
> 
> BTW, I am not a lawyer, so, if this is a very sensitive question for
> you, ask one or more than one, but pick a good one.
> 

Nor am I, but at the end of the COPYING file in the source install of Gprolog
you will find the following:
"
This General Public License does not permit incorporating your program into
proprietary programs.  If your program is a subroutine library, you may
consider it more useful to permit linking proprietary applications with the
library.  If this is what you want to do, use the GNU Library General 
Public License instead of this License.
"
This is the LGPL loophole, allowing you to LINK your own code to
the Gprolog Libraries without releasing your code under the GPL.  

So your development environment is under the main GPL and you 
could not sell it without the full GPL viral recursion, but
target/end use products are not so encumbered, given that 
they are substantially different in function and purpose than
Gprolog itself.

Dhu

> Regards,
> -- 
> -----------------
> Daniel Savard
> 
> 
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