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On Sun, 12 Jul 2009 10:05:58 +0100 "Dave" <dave@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > Here's a possibly controversial question - What does the GPL mean to you? Freedom with respect. > Does it mean I can simply take any program released under the GPL (e.g. > AmroK) and shape it to my tastes accordingly using the Source Code and then > (of course) release my copy under the GPL (and possibly send the patches > back to the original author to do with as he/she wishes). Yes. You don't have to release it and if you don't, the GPL has no effect. > Or does it mean if I am writing my own Application and see something in > another GPL'd program I like I can take the code and utilise the ideas in it > for my own application? - Assuming I then release my application (as I > would) under the GPL Yes. You should encourage the original upstream team to package the relevant code into a shared library which both teams can use if the copied section is large. Embedding copies of code in more than one upstream package is a *bad* idea and a bad use of the GPL. > also does this make me legal, decent, honest and > truthful or does it make me a plagiariser along the lines of MS Embrace, > Extend, and Extinguish? Sharing is the basis of freedom and without sharing there is no freedom. Include the copyright attribution of the copied code and everyone is happy. Make a bad choice and copy thousands of lines of code into another application when you should be separating the code into a library and you'll live to regret it by typical bit rot and programming reasons, not because of any ethical dilemma from the process of making the copy itself. -- Neil Williams ============= http://www.data-freedom.org/ http://www.nosoftwarepatents.com/ http://www.linux.codehelp.co.uk/
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