Re: licensing question

[Michael Creel]

Francesco Potorti` wrote:

> > I would appreciate the following codes in matlab langage:
> > bfgsmin,bisectionstep,celleval,finitedifference,lbfgsmin,newtonstep,numgradient,samin
> > With my Thanks kindly. "
> >
> > I will advise him that this won't work directly, but these files are 
> > also copyrighted GPL. What are the restrictions to using modified 
> > versions compiled with MATLAB? 
> >    
>
> No restrictions.  Matlab is an interpreter.
>
>  
These are C++ source code files used to make .oct files. With MATLAB, 
one would need to compile them as well.

> > I believe it's ok for personal use, but not for any form of
> > distribution. Is that correct?
> >    
>
> If they use the Matlab interpreter plus any Matlab libraries that are
> distributed with Matlab, then there is no problem in distributing them.
> Probably Mathworks could not distribute them alongside with Matlab, but
> that is another issue.
>
> If they use other code in ways other than simply calling an external
> function, that is, they use other code with which they have some sort of
> intimate coupling, and that code has a license incompatible with the
> GPL, then you cannot distribute them (giving them to a student is
> distribution). 
>  
When the modified code is compiled, I think that this sort of "intimate 
coupling" will happen. We may need to tune down our Bayesian spam 
filters at this point  :-)

Well, I just read the GPL another time. As I read section 3, 
distribution of anything derived from the above code in compiled form 
would require the release of the MATLAB source code. Private use of 
compiled versions is ok, as long as it's in a bedroom with the shades 
drawn. So is distribution of modified source code.





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