GPL and Python modules.

[Robert Kern]

Robert Kern wrote:
> Tim Churches wrote:
> 
>> On Tue, 2004-10-26 at 09:29, Cliff Wells wrote:
> 
> 
> [snip]
> 
>>> If this is true, I can't think of any way for a program to run on a
>>> GPL'd system (such as Linux) without becoming GPL'd itself (Unless it
>>> doesn't do any I/O or malloc any memory <wink>). 
>>
>>
>>
>> Yes. It seems to be them is some dissonance between these two positions:
>>
>> "It is OK for a closed-source application to allocate memory on a system
>> running the GPLed Linux kernel"
>>
>> and
>>
>> "It is not OK for a GPL-incompatible Python application to import GPLed
>> code into the runtime namespace it is using."
>>
>> I shudder to think what a judge and jury would make of such a
>> distinction. 
> 
> 
> I'm sure they would see the explicit exception made in the GPL:
> 
> """
> However, as a special exception, the source code distributed need not 
> include anything that is normally distributed (in either source or 
> binary form) with the major components (compiler, kernel, and so on) of 
> the operating system on which the executable runs, unless that component 
> itself accompanies the executable.
> """

Okay, a not-so-retarded reply this time:

 From COPYING in the Linux kernel distribution:

"""
    NOTE! This copyright does *not* cover user programs that use kernel
  services by normal system calls - this is merely considered normal use
  of the kernel, and does *not* fall under the heading of "derived work".
  Also note that the GPL below is copyrighted by the Free Software
  Foundation, but the instance of code that it refers to (the Linux
  kernel) is copyrighted by me and others who actually wrote it.
"""

Whether just using system calls is simply "normal use" for a GPLd OS 
kernel or this is simply a special exception to the GPL for Linux only 
is something that a court will have to decide. But such a suit would 
have to be about some other GPL kernel, not Linux.

IANAL. TINLA.

-- 
Robert Kern
rkern at ucsd.edu

"In the fields of hell where the grass grows high
  Are the graves of dreams allowed to die."
   -- Richard Harter