Messages in this thread | | | From | Andreas Dilger <> | Date | Sat, 27 Oct 2001 01:20:16 -0600 | Subject | Re: Non-standard MODULE_LICENSEs in 2.4.13-ac2 |
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On Oct 27, 2001 13:31 +1000, Keith Owens wrote: > These are the non-standard MODULE_LICENSEs in 2.4.13-ac2, compiling > these as modules will result in a tainted kernel. "BSD without > advertising clause" is not quite good enough for the kernel, that > licence allows for binary only modules. Kernel debuggers insist on > general source availability. > > Since the source is already in the kernel which is distributed as a GPL > work, these sources are effectively dual BSD/GPL. Could the owners > please convert them to "Dual BSD/GPL"?
Ah, so Keith has become (self) nominated license God for the kernel? Being included in the kernel source isn't "general source availability"?
I can see that you want to make this whole tainted-kernel mess work, but I think you are confusing intent with implementation. The intent (AFAICS) is to mark the kernel tainted ONLY if a closed-source module is loaded, rather than to be a "license police" mechanism, especially for sources that have been included in the kernel for a long time.
Rather than make the MODULE_LICENSE() a string that people just fill in (which as your example shows also has problems with spelling and such) you could have a few pre-defined values to make things easier:
#define LICENSE_STRING_GPL "GPL" #define LICENSE_STRING_DUAL_BSD_GPL "Dual BSD/GPL" #define LICENSE_STRING_DUAL_MPL_GPL "Dual MPL/GPL" #define LICENSE_STRING_BSD_KERNEL "BSD without advertising clause, kernel source"
This not only means we avoid problems with spelling (which will mark a kernel as tainted, even if it says "GNU GPL" or similar, and makes keeping the values consistent between user-space and kernel space easier. A NON-TAINTING license string needs to be added for BSD sources that are part of the kernel.
I totally disagree with the assertion that a module has to be "GPL" in order to be "OSS free" especially for sources already in the kernel, so lets not go on a witch hunt for non-GPL licenses in the kernel just to make this tainted stuff work without adding a new license. There is enough animosity between the Linux and GPL camps without more fire for the "GPL is viral, BSD is free" flamewars.
Cheers, Andreas -- Andreas Dilger \ "If a man ate a pound of pasta and a pound of antipasto, \ would they cancel out, leaving him still hungry?" http://www-mddsp.enel.ucalgary.ca/People/adilger/ -- Dogbert
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