Re: Debian package for freeradius_postgresql module

On Sun, Apr 09, 2006 at 02:48:33PM -0700, Chris Travers wrote:
> Tyler MacDonald wrote:
>
> >Martijn van Oosterhout <kleptog(at)svana(dot)org> wrote:
> > I'd call that the short term solution, with the long term solution
> >being to finally convince the right people to remove that clause from
> >OpenSSL's license.
> >
> >
> >
> As I have said before, I think it is Debian's problem at least from the
> perspective of an American (I don't know if other countries might have
> different views of derivation).

Well, it's a Debian problem that possibly applies to Linux distrubutors
in general. Here is a good write up:

http://www.gnome.org/~markmc/openssl-and-the-gpl.html

The issue is that while anybody else can take advantage of the
"components usually part of the OS" clause, Debian as a distributor of
both, can't.

Derivation has nothing to do with it. Read the GPL, it says "complete
source code" includes "any associated interface definition files".
OpenSSL has header files which are necessary to compile libpq, right? I
know ssl support is optional, but Debian has to distribute the source
that produces what it distributes. Anybody they distribute to must be
able to produce executables functionally equivalent to what they
produce themselves.

So in fact it might be sufficient if OpenSSL relicenced their header
files only. Not that that helps.

BTW, here[1] states the issue is that one of the developers you'd have
to convince is Eric Young, who went off to work on a competitor to
OpenSSL. He's unlikely to make it any easier for people to use OpenSSL.

[1] http://www.winehq.com/hypermail/wine-license/2002/03/0161.html

> What about getting those who wrote the FreeRadius module that support
> PostgreSQL to add the exception? Would that be sufficient? Or are we
> about to sue nVidia over their failure to release the code for their
> drivers?

Not, sure. The postgresql module is part of the freeradius package. You
could only relicence it if all the writers of code in that module
(including code copied from other modules) agree. I doubt this would be
any less difficult.

The nvidia question is different. The Linux kernel licence
specifically allows binary kernel modules already.

Have a nice day,
--
Martijn van Oosterhout <kleptog(at)svana(dot)org> http://svana.org/kleptog/
> Patent. n. Genius is 5% inspiration and 95% perspiration. A patent is a
> tool for doing 5% of the work and then sitting around waiting for someone
> else to do the other 95% so you can sue them.