Fwd: License question

From: "Fitzell, Julian" <[hidden email]>

Date: October 12, 2010 10:00:56 AM GMT+02:00

To: <[hidden email]>, <[hidden email]>

Cc: <[hidden email]>, <[hidden email]>

Subject: Re: [Pharo-project] License question

Are you sure? I've heard opinions expressed that looking at a library and copying the API might constitute a derivative work.

I'm not certain if that's correct or not but if you're purposely trying to skirt the terms of the GPL, you might want to make certain.

Julian

----- Original Message -----
From: Paolo Bonzini <[hidden email]>
To: Stéphane Ducasse <[hidden email]>
Cc: Fitzell, Julian; Wilhelm K Schwab <[hidden email]>; Bonzini Paolo <[hidden email]>
Sent: Tue Oct 12 08:47:56 2010
Subject: Re: [Pharo-project] License question

On 10/12/2010 09:35 AM, Paolo Bonzini wrote:
> On 10/11/2010 11:29 PM, Stéphane Ducasse wrote:
>>>> Let's go forward in time. NativeBoost, Alien or FFI provide
>>>> callbacks, I do some adaptation on my end, and out comes a pretty
>>>> capable wrapper for the GNU Scientific Library. That sentence
>>>> trivializes a LOT of work :( Details aside, is the wrapper code
>>>> itself affected by GPL
>
> Yes.

That said, there is a way out.  You could have a simple-minded library
which has the same interface as the bindings but is written in pure
Smalltalk.  Then, the same thing can run fast under the GPL, or slow
under MIT license.

I meant to do this exactly for GSL for a long time, making it compatible
with the code from "Object-Oriented Implementation of Numerical Methods"
so that it could act as a fallback.  However, I never even started it.

http://www.amazon.com/Object-Oriented-Implementation-Numerical-Methods-Introduction/dp/1558606793/ref=cm_lmf_tit_7

Paolo