Re: [Help-glpk] Command-line and GPL

[Andrew Makhorin]

Below here are some comments by Richard Stallman.

In the future please send all questions concerning GPL to
address@hidden , not to this list.

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    >I would like to use the GLPK by calling the glpsol command from a Java
    >program (through system call)

What does he really mean by "through system call" here?

                                   that has to solve a specific MIP
    >problem. This program could build a MathProg file on-the-fly, invoke
    >glpsol with its arguments and then get the solution from the output
    >file. Therefore, it would be neither statically nor dynamically linked
    >to the GLPK.

    >My question is: am I forced to release this program under the GPL?
    >I've already read
    >http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#MereAggregation but
    >it didn't help.

I think the answer is "yes", but it depends on facts not stated clearly
(what "system call" means).

When I understand the scenario, I will make sure our FAQ makes that
clear.  (Other answers may already address this question.)

    > People build commercial applications all the time under Linux. 

That's an error -- he means GNU/Linux.

This question is one where that makes a real difference.
                                                                      These
    > applications implicitly call the Linux kernel,

They call GNU libc (which is under the GNU LGPL), but they don't call
Linux, not in the usual sense of the term "call".

                                                     and perhaps explicitly
    > call on a variety of commands (which are really applications) like
"mv",
    > "cp" and so on.

These are not calls in the relevant sense.

He is trying to generalize the term "call" as far as it makes
any sense, but generalizing that far is a mistake in general.

    May be there is a list to ask such kind of questions? 

People should ask address@hidden