[plug] KDE licence (was Debian was Mandrake)

[russ]

Greg Mildenhall wrote:
> On Fri, 25 Feb 2000, russ wrote:
> > Is linux GPL?
> The kernel is, yes, but you don't link to the kernel. The GNU C Libraries
> are LGPLed, IIRC. By the above this should mean you can't link GPLed
> software to them, but there is an exception for operating system libraries
> which I am too lazy to track down and quote - this is because there are
> systems that only have proprietary standard interfaces, and porting to
> them would be well-nigh impossible without this exemption.
> 
> -Greg

GNU Library General Public License

If the linux kernel is GPL then you can't use any device drivers or
daemons or modules that aren't GPL also? 

They say this about LGPL:

"This is a free software license, but not a strong copyleft license,
because it permits linking with non-free modules. It is compatible
with the GNU GPL. "

But the GPL seems to contradict this? How can LGPL be compatible with
GPL but GPL not compatible with LGPL?


BTW, they have a specific section on QT which explicitly says you can
link QT into a GPL program of your own:

"The Qt Public License (QPL). 

This is a non-copyleft free software license which is incompatible
with the GNU GPL. It also causes major practical inconvenience,
because modified sources can only be distributed as patches. 

We recommend that you use QPL-covered software packages only when
absolutely necessary, and certainly don't use the QPL for anything
that you write. 

Since the QPL is incompatible with the GNU GPL, you cannot take a
GPL-covered program and Qt and link them together, no matter how. 

However, if you have written a program that uses Qt, and you want to
release your program under the GNU GPL, you can easily do that. You
can resolve the conflict for your program by adding a notice like this
to it: 

      As a special exception, you have permission to link this program
      with the Qt library and distribute executables, as long as you
      follow the requirements of the GNU GPL in regard to all of the
      software in the executable aside from Qt.

You can do this, legally, if you are the copyright holder for the
program. Add it in the source files, after the notice that says the
program is covered by the GNU GPL."


-- 

Regards
russ

http://www.powerstech.com/hex