Use of admin directory in project templates

[Simon Hausmann]

(moving to core-devel)

On Thu, Mar 21, 2002 at 10:47:00AM -0800, John Firebaugh wrote:
> > > As I understand it, we specifically allow and support development of
> > > commercial software with kdevelop. So how is it that we can claim this,
> > > but distribute project templates all of which contain GPL'd source, i.e.
> > > most of the scripts and templates in the admin directory?
> >
> > Where exactly do you see a problem with the files in admin/ ?
> 
> Ok, surveying the licenses: some files have no license information at all 
> (am_edit, conf.change.pl, config.pl, debianrules). Some files are LGPL 
> (acinclude.m4.in, configure.in.min). Some files have the specific exception 
> for use with autoconf (config.guess, config.sub, libtool.m4.in, ltmain.sh, 
> missing, ylwrap). depcomp is GPL. install-sh, ltconfig-public and 
> mkinstalldirs are public domain. install-sh has a custom license.

>From am_edit: 
"This is really free software, unencumbered by the GPL.\n",
"You can do anything you like with it except sueing me.\n",
"Copyright 1998 Kalle Dalheimer <kalle\@kde.org>\n",
"Concept, design and unnecessary questions about perl\n",
"       by Matthias Ettrich <ettrich\@kde.org>\n\n",
"Making it useful by Stephan Kulow <coolo\@kde.org> and\n",
"Harri Porten <porten\@kde.org>\n",
"Updated (Feb-1999), John Birch <jb.nz\@writeme.com>\n",
"Current Maintainer Stephan Kulow\n\n";

conf.chance.pl and config.pl indeed lack a license. Michael/Dirk?

debianrules is debian packaging specific.

> > There is
> >
> > a) no direct linkage involved
> 
> Well, it's not clear to me that using the admin files under the LGPL 
> constitutes "worked based on the library" or "work that uses the library." In 
> either cases it seems I am bound by other specific provisions of the license, 
> such as providing a copy of the license with the distribution. I would feel 
> much more confortable using the admin directory at my work if _all_ the files 
> in it contained a message similar to the following:
> 
> > # As a special exception to the GNU General Public License, if you
> > # distribute this file as part of a program that contains a
> > # configuration script generated by Autoconf, you may include it
> > # under
> > # the same distribution terms that you use for the rest of that
> > # program.

(hoping for comments from the admin/ Authors :)


Simon