From: Sean O'Dell <sean@...>
Date: 2003-07-11T09:47:34+09:00
Subject: Re: My brief and torrid affair with Ruby.

"Samuel Tesla" <samuel@alieniloquent.com> wrote in message
news:87n0flx5g9.fsf@alieniloquent.com...
> "Sean O'Dell" <sean@REMOVEME.celsoft.com> writes:
> > "Daniel Carrera" <dcarrera@math.umd.edu> wrote in message
> > > If you incorporate GPL code into your application, your application
does
> > > not become GPL.  However, if you choose to distribute said application
> > > with the GPL code under a non-GPL license, you are not conforming the
GPL.
> > > There are two ways that you can avoid non-conformace:
> > >   - GPL your application.
> > >   - Remove the insterted code.
> >
> > What you've said above holds true, but I think most people are more
> > interested in knowing what their situation is when they DO use GPL'd
code in
> > their application, and in that way the situation is quite clear: if you
use
> > GPL code in your application, in order to release it publicly, you must
GPL
> > your application and you must provide full source code for it.
>
> To pre-emptively clarify.  Of course you can remove the GPL'd code
> from your own, but that's an uninteresting case here.  We're only
> interested in the case where the GPL'd code *IS* included.
>
> To clarify why we're only interested about what happens when the code
> is included.  Ask yourself this question.  Why would I include this
> code in the first place?  Because I want its functionality
> (obviously).  If there is not an acceptable alternative, I do not have
> the time to create that alternative, and I want the functionality,
> then I must include that code.
>
> If there were an acceptable alternative, I would just use it.  If I
> had the time, I would just write it.  If I didn't really need the
> functionality, then I'd just drop it.  But we're not interested in
> those cases.  We're interested in the case where I actually did
> include the code, and that's the one I delineated above.
>
> So in the [interesting] situation where I actually *would* include the
> code, I'm stuck with the GPL.

Thank you Samuel, I had meant to say this very thing: that there's no point
in discussing the matter if the GPL code is removed.

    Sean O'Dell