9.89DF2746 at casema.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Jarl van Katwijk wrote: > > > Yes, the one that makes it possible to have programs > wrapped\linked that > are of any type of licence. The way I see it, the LGPL allows the 'linking' of the LGPL program to a non-GPL program (the ordinary GPL does not allow it). Unfortunately, the LGPL does not define very well what is meant by 'linking' :-( I know that 'linking' does not mean 'incorporating'. We should define these in our own license: 'Incorporating' means to combine code bases to the extent that the programs are packaged and compiled together: They essentially become one program. 'Linking' is the connection of a SPECIFIC program/library to VSh to form a path of communication that is REQUIRED for either VSh or the program/library to function. IPC between VSh and another executable program is NOT considered 'linking', since either can function without the other. It makes sense that making a connection between Netscape Navigator and Apache is not the 'linking' mentioned and restricted by the GPL, doesn't it? The GPL only addresses certain types of linking. I think this is what Linus Torvalds is saying in his note atop the Linux license: 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". If we add to the LGPL, definitions of 'linking' and 'incorporating' like the ones I gave, we should be covered for connecting non-GPL programs and libraries to VSh. Jeff -- +----------------------------------+ | J.W. Bizzaro | | | | http://bioinformatics.org/~jeff/ | | | | BIOINFORMATICS.ORG | | The Open Lab | | | | http://bioinformatics.org/ | +----------------------------------+