> From: Aaron Mulder [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
>
> Code that's licensed under the GPL but imports code
> licensed under
> the APL is treading the line of what might reasonably be
> considered to be
> a "derived work" in the eyes of the GPL (thus requiring that
> the APL code
> be GPLd and breaking the Tomcat license). So I would
> strongly urge that
> any Tomcat integration code at all goes in a "contrib" module
> - if core
> jBoss classes import Tomcat code, then I don't think there's
> any way this
> will be legal!
I don't understand. Isn't importing somewhat analogous to including in
C/C++ (except for the code inclusion part, which means importing is even
looser coupling)? If a GPL module includes a file from the OS, that
doesn't mean that the OS file is derived from the GPL file. So I don't
see how importing an APL file makes it a derived work of the GPL file
doing the importing. I would think it would be the other way around.
Sorry if I'm being dense.
> Also, you mentioned in a later post that we don't change any
> Tomcat code and that is not true - the newest inVM
> integration requires
> some kind of Tomcat code change or addition. So we have to
> do it right.
Okay. But that's not what I was talking about. My JNDI code requires a
bug-fix (of sorts) to Tomcat, but it would be code that should go back
into the Tomcat base. I don't think jBoss should be in the business of
making Tomcat distributions (for things like this). However, I'm sure
you're talking about deeper integration that I don't know about.
> Finally, (are you listening, Board?) there mas a rumor floating
> around a while back about a license addendum that would clarify the
> situation with regard to "derived work" and jBoss, or perhaps
> alter the
> GPL slightly to make it more like the LGPL or something. The
> rumor said
> that this would be completed and run by lawyers within days,
> and that was
> over a month ago. I would be *really nice* to see something
> like that.
[...]
> I would strongly urge the board to make good on those
> promises and
> make a more significant statement on the licensing...
I would be grateful for that. It will certainly suck if it is legally
impossible to integrate jBoss and Tomcat.
Thanks for the reply, Aaron.
