Re: LYNX-DEV SSL for Lynx 2.8

[T.E.Dickey]

> > I'm a little puzzled:  there's nothing in the patches that imho should be
> > restricted/secure since all of the work is done in the (not included)
> > SSLeay library.  Can anyone explain why Fote didn't simply add the ifdef's
> > to 2.7.2?
> 
> I asked the same question a long time ago.  I maintained that the hooks
> alone contained no crytographic code themselves, merely the code used by
> Lynx to hook it into the SSLeay library.  (Hence the name hooks.)  The
> SSL-specific stuff is already inside #ifdef USE_SSL blocks, so it wouldn't
> be hard at all to just supply Lynx with the patches intact and tell people
> to define USE_SSL and set up the libraries appropriately in their
> makefile.  I think some people that probably didn't understand what I was
> saying yelled at me saying that I would be responsible for sending the
> development team to prison, or something like that.  I don't believe them.
I've encountered that sort of thing before.

> There was also another group of people who said that that couldn't be done
> because the GPL prevented it.  Apparently, there's a clause in the GPL
> that says something like if all features of a program are not available
> internationally, they can't be included.  In my opinion, though, providing
> the hooks to link to the SSL library would not be a breach of this -
...
I'd be surprised if RMS's intent is that a few ifdef's would prevent
distribution in that sense.  It's a little late for 2.8 (I don't really
want to change more than documentation & install issues right now), but I
think we should look for some advice to resolve this.  (I'm about as fond
of patches as I am of compiler warnings - they're only acceptable until you
manage to get rid of them - asap).
 
> Maybe the best idea - at least for now - is to put something in the
> installation document or the makefile, or both, that clearly sets forth
> the whole idea behind SSL, how it can be added to Lynx, and where the
> patches are obtainable.
ok (I'll add a paragraph to INSTALLATION, if it's not already there).
 
> -Mox
> 
> --
> Mark Mentovai
> address@hidden
> http://www.moxienet.com/
> 
> 


-- 
Thomas E. Dickey
address@hidden
http://www.clark.net/pub/dickey