kdelibs and the GPL

[Martin Konold]

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On Thursday 20 June 2002 10:43 am, Andreas Pour wrote:

Hi,

> IMHO depends on how strictly you read the GPL.  The FSF position, though
> perhaps incoherent, appears to be that you can link an LGPL library
> (such as glibc) against both GPL and proprietary applications at the
> same time.
>
> A program which links with kdelibs does not, as a general matter, link
> with the plugins, and so, it would seem, the plugin license has no
> bearing on the program.  However, if the program was written such that
> it does not work without the plugin, or specifically relies on it, then
> all bets are off.

Please be aware of the fact that the GPL was drafted before anything like 
runtime linking was common. The sw model of the GPL is still the old model of 
incorporating code via static linking. All the dynamic linking rational was 
later added by the FSF and will probably extended to some p2p and client 
sever models aka web services in the future.

IMHO the viral aspects (better call them vacination according to G. Greve) 
might even be unlawful in some contries especially with plugins etc...

Regards,
- --martin


- -- 
Dipl.-Phys. Martin Konold
e r f r a k o n
Erlewein, Frank, Konold & Partner - Beratende Ingenieure und Physiker
Germanenstrasse 15, 70563 Stuttgart, Germany
email: martin.konold at erfrakon.de
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