I'm a bit surprised that no one even bothered to check the Free Software Foundation's very brilliant and well-documented FAQ for this.
<http://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses/gpl-faq.html#GPLPluginsInNF>: "Can I apply the GPL when writing a plug-in for a non-free program? If the program uses fork and exec to invoke plug-ins, then the plug-ins are separate programs, so the license for the main program makes no requirements for them. So you can use the GPL for a plug-in, and there are no special requirements. If the program dynamically links plug-ins, and they make function calls to each other and share data structures, we believe they form a single program, which must be treated as an extension of both the main program and the plug-ins. This means that combination of the GPL-covered plug-in with the non-free main program would violate the GPL. However, you can resolve that legal problem by adding an exception to your plug-in's license, giving permission to link it with the non-free main program." That said, you MAY use the GPL for your plugin, IF you add an exception to its license granting the Source Engine permission to link to your plugin (see the faq above on how to do this, I only included the short answer). As for the Source Code of the Source SDK that you use. You are not required to redistribute the libraries or the .cpp files. I don't know about the .h files, though. However, if you design your project so that it can be distributed without the Source SDK (but requires it to compile), then it is perfectly fine. You are allowed to use non-GPL libraries from GPL programs/libraries. And if you grant an exception to the Source Engine, then everything would be perfectly fine. Of course, switching to the LGPL would make things much more easier and allow all programs to link to your plugin library, so I would consider the LGPL instead of the GPL. However, if you really want to use the GPL, the instructions above should apply. I had a little trouble understanding what you meant with the first question, but I hope I got it right. Thanks, and happy coding! - Sortie [email protected] skrev: > I am working on a plugin development team. Since our plugin is open > source, I was wondering if it is a nono to include in our trunk the > EP1-SDK and the OB-SDK files? > > iirc, you can't gain access to the sdk unless you purchase games. > > Is this assumption correct? > > Thanks, > Keeper _______________________________________________ To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, please visit: http://list.valvesoftware.com/mailman/listinfo/hlcoders
