Raul Miller <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > On Tue, Jan 18, 2005 at 07:43:08PM -0500, Walter Landry wrote: >> But none in Debian main. People seem to be missing the point, so I >> will repeat: I am not saying that Eclipse is not distributable, just >> that it can't go into main. > > That's easy to say. It's much harder to back up. > > The distinction between main and not-main is purely a DFSG issue. The GPL > doesn't care about this distinction at all.
Not true. The GPL prohibits distributing bundled copies of GPL'd and GPL-incompatible works, if they are more tightly coupled than mere aggregation. That is, the Debian OS is a work. It contains copies of Kaffe and Eclipse. They are interdependent, more closely related than, say, Eclipse and isync. Thus, they must both be distributed under the terms of the GPL. >> > This does not equate to debian's dependencies. The GPL has very clearly >> > limited its scope (to "the Program" and/or a "work based on the Program") >> > and debian can have dependencies for any of a variety of reasons not >> > relating those particular concepts. > >> I will grant you that the mapping between Debian dependencies and >> "whole works" is not perfect. But it is pretty good. > > This doesn't make Eclipse a part of Kaffe, or of a work based on Kaffe. > > Which means that the GPL's "work as a whole" clauses don't come into > play at all. > > Eclipse is associated with Kaffe, when it's associated at all, only in > the context of running Kaffe, and the GPL explicitly states that the > act of running Kaffe is not restricted. Eclipse will also be distributed on CDs with Kaffe, such that the CDs install an OS with Eclipse and Kaffe set up together. Eclipse will be part of the Debian OS, which is a work containing a copy of Kaffe. That fits the GPL's definition in section 2, so Eclipse has to be under a GPL-compatible license. > Since the only relationships between Eclipse and Kaffe are: they're > (or would be) aggregated together in Debian, and when Kaffe runs, it > (sometimes) processes Eclipse, and since the GPl specifically allows > these relationships to be unrestricted, that "work as a whole" language > is not an issue in this context. There is another relationship: the artisans creating Debian made a creative choice not to put Eclipse in until Kaffe satisfied certain properties. That wouldn't happen in a case of mere aggregation. -Brian -- Brian Sniffen [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
