restrictions on web service linking?

David Woolley david at djwhome.demon.co.uk
Wed Nov 22 06:39:54 UTC 2006


This borderline case of the GPL is a common off topic subject!
> 
> I think you're forgetting *when* the derived work is created.

It's created in the compiler, as the library and associated header
files are normally read by the compiler.  I think that may have
been the wrong answer for you.

Note that the GPL V2 does not mention static linking, but only
derivative works.  It is the FSFs interpretation that dynamically
linked code is a derivative work at the time of compilation (or
first linking).

> 
> | What OSD 9 tries to do is draw a line between derivative works
> | and "other works". A license can put restrictions on derivatives
> | but not on those "other works".
> 
> I kinda read OSD#9 more literally, that it doesn't place restrictions on
> other software it is distributed along with.  That is what it says anyway.

The purpose, as far as I concerned, is to allow the creation of compilation
CD, and to allow commercial OS distributors to distribute open source 
programs along with their operating systems, as most Unix ones do and I believe
even Microsoft does.



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