Ethan Merrit wrote:
This sounds strange to me.
The question is usually raised in the other direction - whether GPL
libraries can be used by a non-GPL program [*].
Here you are saying that a GPL program cannot use non-GPL libraries.
I believe this is false. To take an obvious example, consider GPL
software running on Windows and calling into the system libraries.
Do you think that Cygwin has been in violation of the GPL all these
years?
Or perhaps I misunderstand. Are you saying that the current CCP4
license does not permit combination with non-CCP4 code?
If you have a GPL'd program that relies on another software component
with a restricted license, you can distribute the GPL'd program, but not
the libraries or other software components it relies on, which means
that distribution becomes meaningless. The receiver of your program
does not have the same rights to free software that you do. Whether or
not that is in fact a _breach_ of the GPL license I am not qualified to
say, but I think it is.
-- Morten
--
Morten Kjeldgaard, Asc. professor, Ph.D.
Department of Molecular Biology, Aarhus University
Gustav Wieds Vej 10 C, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
Lab +45 89425026 * Mobile +45 51860147 * Fax +45 86123178
Home +45 86188180 * http://www.bioxray.dk/~mok
