On Tue, Oct 23, 2012 at 5:21 PM, Roy Stogner <royst...@ices.utexas.edu>wrote:
>
> The whole reason the GPL was created was to protect people's source
> code from being redistributed in derived works linked with binary
> blobs, regardless of the binary's license. That's basically the whole
> difference between GPL and LGPL too - the latter lets you redistribute
> derived works that combine source-code-available and binary-only
> objects, the former doesn't.
>
> If you've got the support of the original authors of all the GPL'ed
> components, of course, you can add whatever exceptions you wish. But
> the only exception the GPL itself adds is for "system libraries".
>
> http://www.gnu.org/licenses/**gpl-faq.html#**GPLIncompatibleLibs<http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#GPLIncompatibleLibs>
No - you have that backwards. The GPL says nothing about distributing BSD
binary blobs with your GPL'd application/library. That would be covered by
the BSD license the binary blob is under.
The GPL _does_ cover distributing binary blobs _of_ GPL'd applications /
libraries and or linking to them.
To be clear... you _can_ distribute a GPL'd application that comes with
binary blobs in other licenses (provided that you satisfy those other
license clauses when you do so). The GPL would only cover _your_ code that
is GPL'd... and has nothing to do with what you're doing with someone
else's code.
Now - if you compile a binary blob that includes both GPL'd and non-GPL'd
software... what you do with that blob _must_ conform to the GPL (it should
also conform to the other licenses as well... but they're usually less
restrictive than the GPL) which generally means that you need to make the
source code available for the GPL'd portions AND for any non-GPL'd portions
that interface with GPL'd code (ie call GPL'd functions, use GPL'd symbols,
etc).
If a GPL'd code is using a BSD library like fparser... then there are no
problems with distributing a binary of fparser (provided you satisfy the
BSD license with the copyright notice publication somewhere) linked into
your GPL'd code. fparser would not be calling GPL'd functions, nor would
it be using GPL'd symbols in any way. To put it plainly the fparser object
file contains no GPL'd software and therefore the distribution of that part
of the binary would NOT need to follow the GPL.... you would simply need to
satisfy the BSD license for fparser.
You are absolutely right that the GPL protects against linking in GPL
libraries and distributing a binary. But that's not what's happening with
fparser. You are linking in a BSD library and only need to follow the
rules for doing so.... even in the case that your software is GPL'd.
Derek
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