RE: WIN32 compilation, the spirit of GNU software.

["Rob Campbell" <rob campbell att net>]

-----Original Message-----
From: dia-list-admin@gnome.org [mailto:dia-list-admin@gnome.org]On
Behalf Of James Michael DuPont
Sent: Friday, August 23, 2002 2:47 AM
To: dia-list@gnome.org
Subject: Re: WIN32 compilation, the spirit of GNU software.
<<snip>>
> I am following the instructions and getting all the dependant libs
> sources installed, from glib, gtk, ilibcon, gettext.
>
> These sources should be put on the same server as the binaries is what
> I am saying according to the GPL FAQ.

Do you realize the implication of what you are saying?  Every site for every
GPL application must host the source code of every library that it relies
on.  That would include libraries cover by LGPL, BSD, or any other license
(the GPL, as you interpret it, applies to the GPL'd applciation, not the
libraries it uses).  That's zillions of lines of code that must be copied
and - to be useful - kept up to date.  That would include the standard C
library, including for your own project.  That's a waste of natural
(electricity, metals, toxins used in the production of electronics) and
human resources.  Plus, it's plain stupid.

If such a stringent requirement applies to the libraries of a GPL
application, wouldn't it apply to the application itself?  You package and
distribute a modified version of GCC, yet you provide only the patches
needed to compile it.  Where is the rest of the source?  It's not on the
same server.

Rob Campbell
rob.campbell@att.net