Thanks for the answer, Steve. However, there are cases where it's
really hard to tell what the intended representation is. For example,
in the context of ORT [1] we're using SPDX documents to describe
projects and their dependencies where there are no other means (e.g. a
package manager / build system like Maven) available.

So when using SPDX to describe a package that is a dependency of a
project, you might actually be interested in both the binary artifacts
(as that's what's used in the build) and the source code (as that's
what you scan with a license scanner) for that package. This makes it
quite unclear what the PackageDownloadLocation should point to.

Any recommendations for that particular use-case?

[1] https://github.com/oss-review-toolkit/ort

-- 
Sebastian Schuberth

On Tue, Mar 2, 2021 at 6:41 PM Steve Winslow
<[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Hi Sebastian,
>
> I think the answer would depend on what distribution of software the Package 
> is intended to represent. E.g., if the Package is representing / describing a 
> distribution of source code, then the PackageDownloadLocation would likely 
> point to the VCS syntax. Or if the Package is describing a binary artifact, 
> then that's where the PackageDownloadLocation would point too.
>
> Best,
> Steve
>
> On Tue, Mar 2, 2021 at 11:04 AM Sebastian Schuberth <[email protected]> 
> wrote:
>>
>> Hi,
>>
>> just a quick question about the PackageDownloadLocation [1]: When it
>> does not contain a VCS URL, but to a plain URL, is the URL the
>> supposed to point to the *source* artifact for the package, or the
>> *binary* artifact for the package?
>>
>> Given that the alternative VCS syntax obviously points to the source
>> code, I would expect that also the plain URL syntax is supposed to
>> point to a source artifact, but I couldn't find it spelled out in the
>> spec.
>>
>> [1] 
>> https://spdx.github.io/spdx-spec/3-package-information/#37-package-download-location
>>
>> --
>> Sebastian Schuberth
>>
>>
>> 
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Steve Winslow
> VP, Compliance and Legal
> The Linux Foundation
> [email protected]


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