From: "M. Edward (Ed) Borasky" <znmeb@...>
Date: 2007-10-15T03:07:37+09:00
Subject: Re: MIT vs. Ruby/GPL License

Trans wrote:
> That link helped --well almost. This is what it says on the subject:
> 
> <i>
> What is the difference between "mere aggregation" and "combining two
> modules into one program"?
>     Mere aggregation of two programs means putting them side by side
> on the same CD-ROM or hard disk. We use this term in the case where
> they are separate programs, not parts of a single program. In this
> case, if one of the programs is covered by the GPL, it has no effect
> on the other program.
> 
>     Combining two modules means connecting them together so that they
> form a single larger program. If either part is covered by the GPL,
> the whole combination must also be released under the GPL--if you
> can't, or won't, do that, you may not combine them.
> 
>     What constitutes combining two parts into one program? This is a
> legal question, which ultimately judges will decide. We believe that a
> proper criterion depends both on the mechanism of communication (exec,
> pipes, rpc, function calls within a shared address space, etc.) and
> the semantics of the communication (what kinds of information are
> interchanged).
> 
>     If the modules are included in the same executable file, they are
> definitely combined in one program. If modules are designed to run
> linked together in a shared address space, that almost surely means
> combining them into one program.
> 
>     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.
> </i>
> 
> Kind of fuzzy.
> 
> T.

All this proves is that the distinction between the English language and 
code is starting to erode, and when a programmer, like Richard M. 
Stallman, dabbles in Law, it gets worse. :)