On Thu, 12 Feb 2004, Arkady V.Belousov wrote: > 1. Strictly speaking BC/OW/MSC are not "components" of MS-DOS/Windows. I
Yup. See tom's reply, too. > > 2. Again: exepackers are non-essential part of program, which adds stub for > _existing and working_ code, so they can't be counted as "modules, which > program contains". This is unlike compilers, from which program contains > (uses) RTL. Nope: GPL is generally considered a source-only license, but in fact it plainly says: The user you distribute a Program to must be able to reproduce it. <point> When the user needs a component to exepack it, in order to reproduce it, you MUST give the user an exepack'er. Again: As I wrote, it is not the stub that matters, but the fact that the exepacker modifies the Program, which is protected under GPL and GPL is the _only_ license that allows you to modify it. (Well, this sentence is more or less a quote from the GPLv2). Therefore, I assume that you have to make clear that the exepack'ed executable is not what is distributed to the user, but merely the delivery method. > SK> along with the "virus effect" clause 2b): > SK> b) You must cause any work that you distribute or publish, that in > SK> whole or in part contains or is derived from the Program or any > SK> part thereof, to be licensed as a whole at no charge to all third > SK> parties under the terms of this License. > SK> OK - _I_ personally understand an EXEPACKER as a "kind of delivery", > > Exepacker, as standalone application, doesn't "contain" packed program. > Stub (and archive file) doesn't "contain" program. I think, "contain" is a Wrong: The compressed result includes the GPL'ed Program in a modifed form. And this compressed result you are distributing to other people - and this is, where the GPL comes into play -- not before and not after. > But later user passes Stacker volume (as file) with GPLed software > inside. Should it also pass Stacker sources? As I also already wrote: GPL covers the ___distribution___, not the run of the Program. When the user chooses to put a GPL'ed Program onto a Stacker partition, it is the doing of the user, not of the distributor. If the distributor ships a Stacker'ed floppy, the matters differ. However, in this case even the FSF people would hopefully go an easy way to see the equalness to archives, like ZIP. Bye, -- Steffen Kaiser ------------------------------------------------------- SF.Net is sponsored by: Speed Start Your Linux Apps Now. Build and deploy apps & Web services for Linux with a free DVD software kit from IBM. Click Now! http://ads.osdn.com/?ad_id=1356&alloc_id=3438&op=click _______________________________________________ Freedos-devel mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-devel
