Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!think!barmar
From: barmar@think.com (Barry Margolin)
Newsgroups: gnu.misc.discuss
Subject: Re: Linking with C libraries.
Message-ID: <32745@news.Think.COM>
Date: 9 Jan 90 06:54:18 GMT
References: <1990Jan8.054859.557@oracle.com> <1990Jan8.185253.8145@oracle.com>
Sender: news@Think.COM
Organization: Thinking Machines Corporation, Cambridge MA, USA
Lines: 25

In article <1990Jan8.185253.8145@oracle.com> wbailey@oracle.com writes:
>In article <1990Jan8.054859.557@oracle.com>, wbailey@oracle.com (Bill
>Bailey) writes:
>> For an executable file, complete source code means all the source code
>> for all modules it contains; but, as a special exception, it need not
>> include source code for modules which are standard libraries that
>> accompany the operating system on which the executable file runs
>How am I to control whether someone links with the "standard libraries that
>accompany the OS" or with GNU libraries?

If the recipient does the linking, then the libraries he links with are not
"contained" in the executable you distributed.  The ">>" paragraph is
referring to the case where you distribute a prelinked program.  In that
case, you are permitted to link with the standard libraries for the
recipient's system without getting in copyleft trouble.

If you distribute the program unlinked, and the recipient links it and
redistributes this, *he* is responsible for providing source code to the
libraries with which he linked (unless they're the standard libraries that
accompany *his* recipient's system).
--
Barry Margolin, Thinking Machines Corp.

barmar@think.com
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