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Re: [Fsuk-manchester] Talking about non-free software on the list
From: |
Simon Ward |
Subject: |
Re: [Fsuk-manchester] Talking about non-free software on the list |
Date: |
Thu, 21 Mar 2013 19:10:08 +0000 |
User-agent: |
Kaiten Mail |
Bob Ham <address@hidden> wrote:
>Suppose there are two pieces of software, A and B. If A depends on B
>and B is non-free then A is not free.
Ish. As pointed out in another post, A itself could be considered to be free.
However, the dependency on non-free software presents a problem. You cannot
have a free system with that dependency. It's the combination that is non-free.
Ideally, we would write a free software replacement for B, since it is really B
that is the problem. Don't forget, GCC was originally developed and could only
be built in non-free environments, but it was still considered free software.
The GPL FAQ[1] has this to say on non-free library dependencies:
"Can I write free software that uses non-free libraries? (#FSWithNFLibs)
If you do this, your program won't be fully usable in a free environment.
If your program depends on a non-free library to do a certain job, it cannot do
that job in the Free World. If it depends on a non-free library to run at all,
it cannot be part of a free operating system such as GNU; it is entirely off
limits to the Free World."
Also worth reading is Free but Shackled - The Java Trap[2].
[1]: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#FSWithNFLibs
[2]: https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/java-trap.html
- Re: [Fsuk-manchester] Talking about non-free software on the list, (continued)
- Re: [Fsuk-manchester] Talking about non-free software on the list, Quiliro Ordóñez, 2013/03/20
- Re: [Fsuk-manchester] Talking about non-free software on the list, MJ Ray, 2013/03/20
- Re: [Fsuk-manchester] Talking about non-free software on the list, Bob Ham, 2013/03/21
- Re: [Fsuk-manchester] Talking about non-free software on the list, MJ Ray, 2013/03/21
- Re: [Fsuk-manchester] Talking about non-free software on the list, Bob Ham, 2013/03/21
- Re: [Fsuk-manchester] Talking about non-free software on the list, Chris Warburton, 2013/03/21
- Re: [Fsuk-manchester] Talking about non-free software on the list,
Simon Ward <=