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@@ -1,13 +1,14 @@
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- GNU LIBRARY GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
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- Version 2, June 1991
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+ GNU LESSER GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
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+ Version 2.1, February 1999
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- Copyright (C) 1991 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
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- 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
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+ Copyright (C) 1991, 1999 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
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+ 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA
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Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies
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of this license document, but changing it is not allowed.
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-[This is the first released version of the library GPL. It is
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- numbered 2 because it goes with version 2 of the ordinary GPL.]
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+[This is the first released version of the Lesser GPL. It also counts
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+ as the successor of the GNU Library Public License, version 2, hence
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+ the version number 2.1.]
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Preamble
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@@ -16,97 +17,109 @@ freedom to share and change it. By contrast, the GNU General Public
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Licenses are intended to guarantee your freedom to share and change
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free software--to make sure the software is free for all its users.
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- This license, the Library General Public License, applies to some
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-specially designated Free Software Foundation software, and to any
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-other libraries whose authors decide to use it. You can use it for
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-your libraries, too.
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-
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- When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not
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-price. Our General Public Licenses are designed to make sure that you
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-have the freedom to distribute copies of free software (and charge for
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-this service if you wish), that you receive source code or can get it
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-if you want it, that you can change the software or use pieces of it
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-in new free programs; and that you know you can do these things.
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+ This license, the Lesser General Public License, applies to some
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+specially designated software packages--typically libraries--of the
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+Free Software Foundation and other authors who decide to use it. You
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+can use it too, but we suggest you first think carefully about whether
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+this license or the ordinary General Public License is the better
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+strategy to use in any particular case, based on the explanations below.
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+
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+ When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom of use,
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+not price. Our General Public Licenses are designed to make sure that
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+you have the freedom to distribute copies of free software (and charge
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+for this service if you wish); that you receive source code or can get
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+it if you want it; that you can change the software and use pieces of
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+it in new free programs; and that you are informed that you can do
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+these things.
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To protect your rights, we need to make restrictions that forbid
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-anyone to deny you these rights or to ask you to surrender the rights.
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-These restrictions translate to certain responsibilities for you if
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-you distribute copies of the library, or if you modify it.
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+distributors to deny you these rights or to ask you to surrender these
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+rights. These restrictions translate to certain responsibilities for
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+you if you distribute copies of the library or if you modify it.
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For example, if you distribute copies of the library, whether gratis
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or for a fee, you must give the recipients all the rights that we gave
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you. You must make sure that they, too, receive or can get the source
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-code. If you link a program with the library, you must provide
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-complete object files to the recipients so that they can relink them
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-with the library, after making changes to the library and recompiling
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+code. If you link other code with the library, you must provide
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+complete object files to the recipients, so that they can relink them
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+with the library after making changes to the library and recompiling
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it. And you must show them these terms so they know their rights.
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- Our method of protecting your rights has two steps: (1) copyright
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-the library, and (2) offer you this license which gives you legal
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+ We protect your rights with a two-step method: (1) we copyright the
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+library, and (2) we offer you this license, which gives you legal
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permission to copy, distribute and/or modify the library.
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- Also, for each distributor's protection, we want to make certain
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-that everyone understands that there is no warranty for this free
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-library. If the library is modified by someone else and passed on, we
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-want its recipients to know that what they have is not the original
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-version, so that any problems introduced by others will not reflect on
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-the original authors' reputations.
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+ To protect each distributor, we want to make it very clear that
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+there is no warranty for the free library. Also, if the library is
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+modified by someone else and passed on, the recipients should know
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+that what they have is not the original version, so that the original
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+author's reputation will not be affected by problems that might be
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+introduced by others.
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- Finally, any free program is threatened constantly by software
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-patents. We wish to avoid the danger that companies distributing free
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-software will individually obtain patent licenses, thus in effect
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-transforming the program into proprietary software. To prevent this,
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-we have made it clear that any patent must be licensed for everyone's
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-free use or not licensed at all.
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-
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- Most GNU software, including some libraries, is covered by the ordinary
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-GNU General Public License, which was designed for utility programs. This
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-license, the GNU Library General Public License, applies to certain
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-designated libraries. This license is quite different from the ordinary
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-one; be sure to read it in full, and don't assume that anything in it is
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-the same as in the ordinary license.
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-
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- The reason we have a separate public license for some libraries is that
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-they blur the distinction we usually make between modifying or adding to a
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-program and simply using it. Linking a program with a library, without
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-changing the library, is in some sense simply using the library, and is
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-analogous to running a utility program or application program. However, in
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-a textual and legal sense, the linked executable is a combined work, a
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-derivative of the original library, and the ordinary General Public License
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-treats it as such.
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-
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- Because of this blurred distinction, using the ordinary General
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-Public License for libraries did not effectively promote software
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-sharing, because most developers did not use the libraries. We
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-concluded that weaker conditions might promote sharing better.
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-
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- However, unrestricted linking of non-free programs would deprive the
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-users of those programs of all benefit from the free status of the
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-libraries themselves. This Library General Public License is intended to
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-permit developers of non-free programs to use free libraries, while
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-preserving your freedom as a user of such programs to change the free
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-libraries that are incorporated in them. (We have not seen how to achieve
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-this as regards changes in header files, but we have achieved it as regards
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-changes in the actual functions of the Library.) The hope is that this
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-will lead to faster development of free libraries.
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+ Finally, software patents pose a constant threat to the existence of
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+any free program. We wish to make sure that a company cannot
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+effectively restrict the users of a free program by obtaining a
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+restrictive license from a patent holder. Therefore, we insist that
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+any patent license obtained for a version of the library must be
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+consistent with the full freedom of use specified in this license.
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+
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+ Most GNU software, including some libraries, is covered by the
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+ordinary GNU General Public License. This license, the GNU Lesser
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+General Public License, applies to certain designated libraries, and
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+is quite different from the ordinary General Public License. We use
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+this license for certain libraries in order to permit linking those
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+libraries into non-free programs.
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+
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+ When a program is linked with a library, whether statically or using
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+a shared library, the combination of the two is legally speaking a
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+combined work, a derivative of the original library. The ordinary
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+General Public License therefore permits such linking only if the
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+entire combination fits its criteria of freedom. The Lesser General
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+Public License permits more lax criteria for linking other code with
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+the library.
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+
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+ We call this license the "Lesser" General Public License because it
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+does Less to protect the user's freedom than the ordinary General
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+Public License. It also provides other free software developers Less
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+of an advantage over competing non-free programs. These disadvantages
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+are the reason we use the ordinary General Public License for many
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+libraries. However, the Lesser license provides advantages in certain
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+special circumstances.
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+
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+ For example, on rare occasions, there may be a special need to
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+encourage the widest possible use of a certain library, so that it becomes
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+a de-facto standard. To achieve this, non-free programs must be
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+allowed to use the library. A more frequent case is that a free
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+library does the same job as widely used non-free libraries. In this
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+case, there is little to gain by limiting the free library to free
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+software only, so we use the Lesser General Public License.
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+
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+ In other cases, permission to use a particular library in non-free
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+programs enables a greater number of people to use a large body of
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+free software. For example, permission to use the GNU C Library in
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+non-free programs enables many more people to use the whole GNU
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+operating system, as well as its variant, the GNU/Linux operating
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+system.
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+
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+ Although the Lesser General Public License is Less protective of the
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+users' freedom, it does ensure that the user of a program that is
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+linked with the Library has the freedom and the wherewithal to run
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+that program using a modified version of the Library.
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The precise terms and conditions for copying, distribution and
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modification follow. Pay close attention to the difference between a
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"work based on the library" and a "work that uses the library". The
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-former contains code derived from the library, while the latter only
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-works together with the library.
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-
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- Note that it is possible for a library to be covered by the ordinary
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-General Public License rather than by this special one.
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+former contains code derived from the library, whereas the latter must
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+be combined with the library in order to run.
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- GNU LIBRARY GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
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+ GNU LESSER GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
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TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING, DISTRIBUTION AND MODIFICATION
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- 0. This License Agreement applies to any software library which
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-contains a notice placed by the copyright holder or other authorized
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-party saying it may be distributed under the terms of this Library
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-General Public License (also called "this License"). Each licensee is
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-addressed as "you".
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+ 0. This License Agreement applies to any software library or other
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+program which contains a notice placed by the copyright holder or
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+other authorized party saying it may be distributed under the terms of
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+this Lesser General Public License (also called "this License").
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+Each licensee is addressed as "you".
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A "library" means a collection of software functions and/or data
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prepared so as to be conveniently linked with application programs
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@@ -255,7 +268,7 @@ distribute the object code for the work under the terms of Section 6.
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Any executables containing that work also fall under Section 6,
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whether or not they are linked directly with the Library itself.
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- 6. As an exception to the Sections above, you may also compile or
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+ 6. As an exception to the Sections above, you may also combine or
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link a "work that uses the Library" with the Library to produce a
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work containing portions of the Library, and distribute that work
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under terms of your choice, provided that the terms permit
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@@ -282,23 +295,31 @@ of these things:
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Library will not necessarily be able to recompile the application
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to use the modified definitions.)
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- b) Accompany the work with a written offer, valid for at
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+ b) Use a suitable shared library mechanism for linking with the
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+ Library. A suitable mechanism is one that (1) uses at run time a
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+ copy of the library already present on the user's computer system,
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+ rather than copying library functions into the executable, and (2)
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+ will operate properly with a modified version of the library, if
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+ the user installs one, as long as the modified version is
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+ interface-compatible with the version that the work was made with.
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+
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+ c) Accompany the work with a written offer, valid for at
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least three years, to give the same user the materials
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specified in Subsection 6a, above, for a charge no more
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than the cost of performing this distribution.
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- c) If distribution of the work is made by offering access to copy
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+ d) If distribution of the work is made by offering access to copy
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from a designated place, offer equivalent access to copy the above
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specified materials from the same place.
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- d) Verify that the user has already received a copy of these
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+ e) Verify that the user has already received a copy of these
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materials or that you have already sent this user a copy.
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For an executable, the required form of the "work that uses the
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Library" must include any data and utility programs needed for
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reproducing the executable from it. However, as a special exception,
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-the source code distributed need not include anything that is normally
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-distributed (in either source or binary form) with the major
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+the materials to be distributed need not include anything that is
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+normally distributed (in either source or binary form) with the major
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components (compiler, kernel, and so on) of the operating system on
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which the executable runs, unless that component itself accompanies
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the executable.
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@@ -347,7 +368,7 @@ Library), the recipient automatically receives a license from the
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original licensor to copy, distribute, link with or modify the Library
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subject to these terms and conditions. You may not impose any further
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restrictions on the recipients' exercise of the rights granted herein.
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-You are not responsible for enforcing compliance by third parties to
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+You are not responsible for enforcing compliance by third parties with
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this License.
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11. If, as a consequence of a court judgment or allegation of patent
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@@ -390,7 +411,7 @@ excluded. In such case, this License incorporates the limitation as if
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written in the body of this License.
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13. The Free Software Foundation may publish revised and/or new
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-versions of the Library General Public License from time to time.
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+versions of the Lesser General Public License from time to time.
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Such new versions will be similar in spirit to the present version,
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but may differ in detail to address new problems or concerns.
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@@ -436,7 +457,7 @@ DAMAGES.
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END OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS
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- Appendix: How to Apply These Terms to Your New Libraries
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+ How to Apply These Terms to Your New Libraries
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If you develop a new library, and you want it to be of the greatest
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possible use to the public, we recommend making it free software that
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@@ -453,18 +474,18 @@ convey the exclusion of warranty; and each file should have at least the
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Copyright (C) <year> <name of author>
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This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
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- modify it under the terms of the GNU Library General Public
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+ modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
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License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
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- version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
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+ version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
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This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
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but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
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MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU
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- Library General Public License for more details.
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+ Lesser General Public License for more details.
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- You should have received a copy of the GNU Library General Public
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- License along with this library; if not, write to the Free
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- Software Foundation, Inc., 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
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+ You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
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+ License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
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+ Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA
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Also add information on how to contact you by electronic and paper mail.
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@@ -479,3 +500,5 @@ necessary. Here is a sample; alter the names:
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Ty Coon, President of Vice
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That's all there is to it!
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+
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+
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