"LGPL API" (was: Re: Private company and code salvation)

[John W. Eaton]

On 29-Sep-2008, Sergei Steshenko wrote:

| --- On Mon, 9/29/08, John W. Eaton <jwe at bevo.che.wisc.edu> wrote:
| 
| > I don't think you can.  Once you link some code
| > licensed under the
| > LGPL with some other code licensed under the GPL, you must
| > distribute
| > the result under the terms of the GPL.  So it is not
| > possible to avoid
| > the terms of the GPL by simply inserting an interface
| > covered by the
| > LGPL between non-free code and code covered by the GPL.
| 
| Linux kernel is GPL, ALSA is LGPL, I believe ALSA site claims one can
| created closed-source audio applications based on ALSA.
| 
| ALSA drivers are loaded dynamically if Linux kernel is compiled so,
| ALSA lib - the thing end user needs for his/her audio application - is
| a DLL - IIRC.

I don't think there is unanimous agreement about this issue.  Just
because one project looks the other way doesn't mean that what they
are doing is a valid interpretation of the GPL.

jwe