Bug#349209: [pkg-boost-devel] Bug#349209: boost: Boost Graph Library is non-free and undistributable in compiled form

[Francesco Poli]

On Sun, 05 Feb 2006 23:09:16 -0500 Steve M. Robbins wrote:

> Francesco,
> 
> Yes, the out-of-date copright file needs to be updated, and yes we
> need to include the information about blanket permission to relicense
> as Boost Software License.  These omissions are simply oversights will
> be addressed in a short while.

Good.

> 
> 
> But I want to clear up one remaining concern:
> 
> On Mon, Feb 06, 2006 at 12:44:03AM +0100, Francesco Poli wrote:
[...]
> > It's non-free if I cannot distribute a compiled form of the library
> > (it is acceptable if I'm required to distribute source too, in order
> > to distribute a compiled form --as in copyleft licenses--, but
> > forbidding compiled code distribution fails DFSG#2).
> 
> Ignoring bgl-viz (which we concluded is OK), the boost graph library
> is template code and therefore *cannot* exist in compiled form.

Why?

When I write a C++ program that uses this library, and I instantiate a
boost graph template, the compiler generates a specialized version of
the template (namely the instance) and then compiles it.
As a consequence, a compiled form of (my instance of) the template ends
up in my executable and the source code for that chunk of my executable
is the .hpp file from the library.

The DFSG guarantee that I'm allowed to distribute my executable (I can
possibly be required to make the source available too, but I cannot be
prevented from distributing the executable).

If the license of the library doesn't allow this, then the library does
not comply with the DFSG.

> For
> me, this renders moot the fact that the license is silent on compiled
> form.  The license fails to grant us permission to do something that
> cannot be done.  That doesn't sound like a problem to me.
> 
> Do you agree?

As I said, I'm not convinced...


-- 
    :-(   This Universe is buggy! Where's the Creator's BTS?   ;-)
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  Francesco Poli                             GnuPG Key ID = DD6DFCF4
 Key fingerprint = C979 F34B 27CE 5CD8 DC12  31B5 78F4 279B DD6D FCF4
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