Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!wuarchive!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!hplabs!hpfcso!hpfcmgw!chan
From: chan@hpfcmgw.HP.COM (Chan Benson)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: Motif 1.1 shipping (please read this too)
Message-ID: <1210041@hpfcmgw.HP.COM>
Date: 4 Sep 90 20:19:02 GMT
References: <1990Aug29.155636@osf.org>
Organization: HP Fort Collins, CO
Lines: 40

>   Before we all get into some inane flame war on this, [...]
>   Secondly, if they were to license it they certainly wouldn't do so
>   under the GNU license, since that would prohibit software vendors
>   from selling software that used Motif.
>
> You know, inane flame wars begin with just a simple piece of
> misinformation.

Anyone got a match?

Okay, quoting from the GNU Emacs General Public License that appears
in my copy of the GNU emacs manual

	"You may modify your copy or copies of GNU Emacs source code or
	 any portion of it, and copy and distribute such modifications
	 under the terms of Paragraph 1 above, provided that you also do
	 the following: ...

	- cause the whole of any work that you distribute or publish, that
	  in whole or in part contains or is a derivative of GNU Emacs
	  or any part thereof, to be licensed at no charge to all third
	  parties on terms identical to those contained in this Licence
	  agreement..."

This would seem to preclude selling a custom widget based on Motif. As
far as executables linked with Motif,

	"For an executable file, complete source code means all the source
	 code for all modules it contains; [excepting system libraries]."

I suppose you could get around this by shipping your application as a .o
file and then having the consumer link it with the Gnu-ified Motif libraries.

If you want free software, write it. I'm all for free software, but
the idea of mandatory free software is anti-freedom. 

Just to keep things in perspective, the cost of a Motif source license is
about what a Motif/X11 consultant can get for one day's work.

			-- Chan