Mailing-List: contact cygwin-help AT cygwin DOT com; run by ezmlm List-Subscribe: List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: , Sender: cygwin-owner AT cygwin DOT com Mail-Followup-To: cygwin AT cygwin DOT com Delivered-To: mailing list cygwin AT cygwin DOT com Message-Id: <5.1.0.14.2.20020413103032.0290ecc0@pop.wanadoo.fr> X-Sender: delphi DOT stuff AT pop DOT wanadoo DOT fr Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2002 10:58:29 +0200 To: Charles Wilson , cygwin AT cygwin DOT com, hvr AT hvrlab DOT org, cdrdao-devel AT lists DOT sourceforge DOT net, delphi DOT stuff AT vcdhelp DOT com From: "delphi.stuff" Subject: Re: Compliance with the GPL (cygwin) In-Reply-To: <3CB771E9.20006@ece.gatech.edu> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed VCDEasy is originally a Graphical Interface helping users to use VCDImager. Then I added cdrdao and some mjpeg tools to ease the VCD creation process. If I include in some VCDEasy distributions these command line tools, it is only to easy the end user setup. Note that VCDEasy is a Win32 native application, made with the free Personal Borland Delphi 6, it does not use cygwin directly. I bought some components so I do not have the rights to publish them. So now, based on the fact that I will not publish the source, what should I do ? Stop my VCDEasy freeware development ? Or does advertise for cygwin directly on my application can be enough ? Something else ? Distribute the Win32 gui only and tell the user to download everything else themselves... in this case I think I am ok with all the licenses... but it won't help the end users... I am not deliberately violating the cygwin GPL license, I only try to help end users, I hope you can understand that. As I said, VCDEasy is a Win32 native application, it does not use cygwin directly. Note that the situation is worse as I identified at least two commercial packages that sell my application (including VCDImager and CDRDAO) without any rights... They are making money... delphi.stuff At 19:46 12/04/2002 -0400, Charles Wilson wrote: >License compliance for programs which use cygwin. > VCDImager (cygiwin-1.3.6) > cdrdao (cygwin-1.1.8) > VCDEasy-full (BOTH cygwin's, since it includes the above) > >I'm ignoring the issue of multiple cygwin versions installed on the same >system, which may conflict with a "real" cygwin environment on the user's >computer, and with each other....that's a different topic (and I don't >know what the "right" solution is, so...skip it) > >Here, I'm only concerned with projects that are not complying with the GPL >license of the cygwin DLL. Since all of these projects are part of the >open-source milieu, I know that any infraction of the license of another >open-source project is unintentional...but violations should be remedied. > >Note that it's very easy for each of these projects to comply with >cygwin's license (the GPL): just > 1) make their own source available (true already, for most of them) > 2) put a tarball of the (appropriate) cygwin DLL source code on > their ftp site with their other downloads, > 3) ditto for other cygwin-linked libraries (zlib, libxml, libjpeg) > if applicable > 4) mention the availability of the source code for libraries > used to create their windows port somewhere on their > webpage (not strictly necessary, but what's the point of > 1 -- 3 if you don't advertise it?) > 5) A plug for the cygwin project itself (http://www.cygwin.com) > would be nice, but definitely not necessary for license compliance. > >To dampen the inevitable arguments about the GPL: >If you distribute a binary (such as cygwin1.dll) that is under the GPL, >then YOU have to also distribute the source code for THAT binary. You >cannot just say "get the source over there, at cygwin.com". If you don't >believe me, READ the GPL. READ the commentary on it by RMS. In addition, >if you link your executable to a GPL'ed shared library (lik cygwin1.dll), >then you must distribute the source code for your executable, as well, or >you lose the right to use cygwin1.dll. It's all there in the GPL. > >Chuck >cygwin hacker > >VCDEasy includes: > > cdrdao-1.1.5 > which contains cygwin1.dll-1.1.8 > cdrdao doesn't distribute the source of cygwin, > although it is opensource itself. They DO > distribute a cygwin-linked "windows" binary > along with a copy of cygwin1.dll itself > (but no mention of the cygwin project anywhere) > BTW: not even cygwin distributes or uses this old > version anymore. Fortunately, the VCDImager guys > went thru the effort of extracting from CVS and > creating a cygwin-1.1.8 tarball, back when they > were using that old version. The cdrdao guys could > a) get it from them & redistribute it, or b) update > to a newer cygwin and get the source from us. > > mjpeg-tools > which contains cygwin1.dll-1.3.6 and cygjpeg6b.dll > Now, the mjpegtools project doesn't seem to provide > windows binaries; the windows (e.g. cygwin) port > seems to be something the VCDEasy folks did. > > VCDImager > which contains cygwin1.dll-1.3.6, cygz.dll, and cygxml-2.dll > VCDImager provides the src for cygwin, but not > zlib or xml. (Actually, they provide LOTS of different > src tarballs -- probably more than they need to -- but > all for various versions of cygwin, not zlib/xml. > >So, to sum up: > > VCDImager project: seems mostly compliant; need a reminder to > include also OTHER source code (zlib, libxml) > > cdrdao: open source, but not complying with the cygwin GPL. > they need to distribute the source for: > cygwin-1.1.8 > > mjpeg-tools: they don't distribute cygwin-linked binaries, so > they are under no obligation to distribute cygwin sources. > > VCDEasy (includes all of the above): provides no source, whatsoever, > for cygwin, cygwin-linked binaries, cygwin-linked dlls, nothing. > NADA. ZILCH. Totally non-compliant. > VCDEasy needs to distribute the source for: > cygwin-1.1.8 > cygwin-1.3.6 > zlib > libxml > jpeg > mjpeg-tools > vcdimager > cdrdao > AND > itself. > >Contact info: > >VCDImager: hvr AT hvrlab DOT org >cdrdao: Manuel Clos at cdrdao-devel AT lists DOT sourceforge DOT net >mjpeg-tools: (not needed) >VCDEasy: delphi DOT stuff AT vcdhelp DOT com -- Unsubscribe info: http://cygwin.com/ml/#unsubscribe-simple Bug reporting: http://cygwin.com/bugs.html Documentation: http://cygwin.com/docs.html FAQ: http://cygwin.com/faq/