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Re: Hole in GPL



However, the GPL does say:
  The source code for a work means the preferred form of the work for
  making modifications to it.  For an executable work, complete source
  code means all the source code for all modules it contains, plus any
  associated interface definition files, plus the scripts used to
  control compilation and installation of the executable.  However, as a
  special exception, the source code distributed need not include
  anything that is normally distributed (in either source or binary
  form) with the major components (compiler, kernel, and so on) of the
  operating system on which the executable runs, unless that component
  itself accompanies the executable.

The GPL defines the source code as the preferred form of the work for
making modifications to it.  This includes any specialized tools needed to
actually use/modify it, and any passwords needed to decrypt it.  Standard
OS tools are explicitly exempted, as they are assumed to exist everywhere.

Since your IDE is not normally distributed with the major components of
the operating system in question (otherwise, your IDE wouldn't circumvent
the GPL at all), the aforementioned exemption does not apply to it.

So in my opinion, requiring proprietary&secret IDE to further revise GPLed
code would violate the GPL.
                                             --- Omer
WARNING TO SPAMMERS:  at http://www.zak.co.il/spamwarning.html


On Sun, 31 Dec 2000, Moshe Zadka wrote:

> In the long, glorious and quite idiotic tradition of finding stupid
> ways of going around the GPL, I submit the following dumb idea.
>
> The GPL does attempt to define ``source code'', but here's an easy
> way to go around that definition. What if you write an IDE, which
> saves the files in some undocumented binary format? The binary
> format *is* the source: it is not generated from anything. It
> can even be the case that there is no textual representation for
> the program. You don't have to release the IDE (the GPL says nothing
> about tools to modify source code), but you can release the
> binary format (which is your source), as well as executable files.
> Since the GPL says nothing about tools to transform the binary format
> into executables, you don't have to release that binary format-> c code
> you use internally (which uses straight forward code generation,
> since the language you're using is very close to C, with some
> idiotic things like "bigger parenthesis" so it won't be mere text).
>
> So you can take GPL'ed C, compile it into your binary format,
> and declare that format as the source. No one will be able to
> edit it (perhaps the binary format is even strongly encrypted,
> and the IDE you don't release has the password compiled it),
> but you're still complying with the terms of the GPL.


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