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From: kaila@crl.com (Christine Maxwell)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc
Subject: Re: FreeBSD Libraries
Date: 24 Jun 1995 15:48:04 -0700
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Thank you for your reply!
Jordan K. Hubbard (jkh@whisker.internet-eireann.ie) wrote:
: In article <3shjcf$kd0@crl7.crl.com> kaila@crl.com (Christine Maxwell) writes:
: I am interested in doing some development for FreeBSD, both freeware
: and commercial. I am however, worried about the license restrictions on
: the function libraries included... Can anyone give me an idea which
: libraries (and / or functions) are under the GPL so I can avoid using them?
: If you're doing development, then the first thing I suggest that you
: do is load the full source distribution. You'll need it anyway!
I have indeed been planning on doing this, for use in my development,
as well as for writing documentation on the libraries for my own
reference. I am limited to a 14.4K line to a shell account however, so
this will take me some time.
: Once you've done that, then the GPL'd bits become obvious: They're all
: under /usr/src/sys/gnu and /usr/src/gnu. Any libraries or binaries
: built from those locations are, naturally, GPL'd.
I shall avoid those bit like the plague, I assure you. :) I much
prefer the Berkeley copyright, and would like to place any freeware I
write under that.
: Note also that the LGPL (Library version of GPL) covers just about
: everything you'd ever need to link with and is far more relaxed about
: "contamination" than the GPL itself is. I would read them both, just
: to be sure.
: Jordan
I have read them both (quite some time ago) and loathe them. I find
them restrictive and cumbersome... Not to mention, likely to cause
headaches for people who dislike legal jargon, and perhaps reducing the
chances of people actually reading and obeying the license. My main
interest in finding all the libraries and functions covered by them, is
to identify the libraries and functions I will need to write in order to
support my own development efforts. (I shall make those freeware, if
anyone would be interested)
Again, let me thank you for your reply. I shall do as you suggest,
as soon as I possibly can, maybe sooner. (smile)
Christine