GPL and Python modules.

[Tim Churches]

On Tue, 2004-10-26 at 09:29, Cliff Wells wrote:
> On Tue, 2004-10-26 at 08:37 +1000, Tim Churches wrote:
> > On Tue, 2004-10-26 at 01:16, Grant Edwards wrote:
> > > Let's say I use a GPL'd python module (e.g. something installed
> > > in site-packages) in an application.
> > > 
> > > Let's also say I use py2exe to package and distribute said
> > > application.
> > > 
> > > Is what I'm distributing a "derived work" of the GPL'd python?
> > > Or is py2exe's packaging of the module's .pyc file and my
> > > application code's .pyc files a "mere aggregation" so that I
> > > only have to provide source code for the GPL'ed module and not
> > > for my application code?
> > 
> > See the GPL FAQ at
> > http://www.fsf.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#MereAggregation :
> 
> If this interpretation is true, then I suppose I'm going to have to
> reassess my position on the GPL and agree with Microsoft <gasp> that the
> GPL is "viral".  I had always dismissed this claim as pure FUD, but the
> following gives pause:
> 
> '''                
> By contrast, pipes, sockets and command-line arguments are communication
> mechanisms normally used between two separate programs. So when they are
> used for communication, the modules normally are separate programs. But
> if the semantics of the communication are intimate enough, exchanging
> complex internal data structures, that too could be a basis to consider
> the two parts as combined into a larger program.
> '''
> 
> 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. 
-- 

Tim C

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