[development] GPL policy: request for clarification

Boris Mann boris at bryght.com
Wed May 31 04:31:33 UTC 2006


On 5/30/06, Nedjo Rogers <nedjo at islandnet.com> wrote:
>
> > Since the details and reason for this policy seem worthy of capturing
> for
> > posterity, I've drafted a brief handbook page,
> > http://drupal.org/node/66113.
>
> A small addendum. The LGPL permits the relicensing of any single copy of
> an
> LGPL library from LGPL to GPL (article 3 of the LGPL,
> http://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl.html). In three cases in the Javascript
> Tools package (jscalendar, wforms, columns) I have relicensed LGPL
> libraries
> to GPL and included them in CVS. Other modules using LGPL code, e.g.,
> TinyMCE, presumably could choose to do the same. This practice is in full
> compliance with the GPL. I assume it's also in full compliance with Drupal
> CVS policies, as the software in CVS has only one license, the GPL.
>
> If there are any issues with this approach, please speak up! Otherwise,
> I'll
> add a note on this to the Handbook page.
>

There is an issue here, although it is in part up to the module maintainer.
You *could* check third-party libraries with compatible licenses into CVS,
but it's discouraged: the latest releases, bugfixes, security updates, and
so on will always be maintained by the source distributor/maintainer of the
library/package/whatever.

It's "convenient" to have it one package, but it's more work for the
maintainer to keep up with the upstream packages, and then be maintaining
non-Drupal code in Drupal CVS.

It's especially discouraged if the libraries are very large....this last
factor is no longer as big an issue now that we have solid hosting/support.

-- 
Boris Mann
Vancouver 778-896-2747
San Francisco 415-367-3595
Skype borismann
http://www.bryght.com
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