Quoting Clemens Kirchgatterer: > Denis Oliver Kropp <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > As Clemens already answered, in principle LGPL means that > > you can link against the library without the need to open > > your own source code. Whether it's static or dynamic makes > > a difference as Clemens wrote, but I wouldn't insist on > > releasing object files if anyone links statically against > > DirectFB :-) > > i really don't want to nitpick here, but this clause is in the LGPL to > protect the enduser from being locked into a specific version of > DirectFB. i find it quite important. but i also know that on the one > hand, it is maybe hard or even not possible to exchange software on an > embedded device and on the other, most software is linked dynamicly > anyway.
Yes, it's not really applicable. > > If you write your own modules for DirectFB, e.g. input or > > graphics drivers, you can do that closed source, too. > > > > But if you make changes to the DirectFB library source > > itself you'd have to give back those changes to the community. > > this is not 100% correct and many people suffer from this > misunderstanding. ;-) the GPL does not require any changes of the > source to be made public or even be sent back upstream. it just > requires, that whoever receives the binary of a (L)GPL program also > (can) get(s) the sourcecode from the very same person in the same way > he got the binary. (reading the clause with the written permissen to > request the source later, is left as an exercise.) Ok, but practically if anyone sells a product with a modified DirectFB core library, the changes can flow back by requesting the source. So if nothing is sold (or given away), nothing can be requested. > now, that means, if somebody changes directfb, puts it in the firmware > of a setopbox in addition to the (changed) directfb.tar.gz, it > fulfills the requirements of the (L)GPL. Nobody would waste flash memory four source tar balls on embedded devices :) -- Best regards, Denis Oliver Kropp .------------------------------------------. | DirectFB - Hardware accelerated graphics | | http://www.directfb.org/ | "------------------------------------------" _______________________________________________ directfb-users mailing list [email protected] http://mail.directfb.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/directfb-users
