On Fri, Jul 19, 2024 at 03:07:34PM -0400, Joe Taylor via wsjt-devel wrote: > The following text is from "Frequently Asked Questions about the GNU > Licenses", https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html : > > "[P]ipes, sockets and command-line arguments are communication mechanisms > normally used between two separate programs... [W]hen they are used for > communication, the modules normally are [considered] separate programs."
That certainly makes sense if there is a clear separation of functionality or if that functionality is entirely optional, e.g. logging or visualisation. The text you quoted continues: "But if the semantics of the communication are intimate enough, exchanging complex internal data structures, that too could be a basis to consider the two parts as combined into a larger program." In this case the three closed source programs perform what could be considered 'core' functionality: encoding/modulation and demodulation/decoding of the superfox waveform. If that is acceptable, then the whole DSP part of WSJTX could be delegated to some closed source binaries, leaving only the user interface. Would you call such a WSJTX still 'open source' ? If not, then where is the dividing line ? IMHO at least the waveform should be fully documented, allowing others to create their own implementation of the closed source programs. And I wonder what are the legal aspects of using an undocumented waveform on the HAM bands. If the secrecy is there only to protect the fox callsign authentication, then it will be just a matter of time before we'll see another example of why 'security by obscurity' is a bad idea. The amount of data that can be squeezed into a fox message seems to be way too small for any really secure cryptographic scheme. So this will be a very juicy target for anyone who enjoys cracking such things. That includes me :-) At least that would be an 'educational' side of superfox... Just my 2 Eurocents of course. Ciao, -- FA _______________________________________________ wsjt-devel mailing list wsjt-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/wsjt-devel
