octave-maintainers
[Top][All Lists]
Advanced

[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: Quick Question about GNU Octave using


From: Mike Miller
Subject: Re: Quick Question about GNU Octave using
Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2018 17:23:57 -0700
User-agent: Mutt/1.10.0 (2018-05-17)

On Mon, Jul 09, 2018 at 17:05:50 -0700, Ben Abbott wrote:
> 
> > On Jul 9, 2018, at 16:37, Brad <address@hidden> wrote:
> > 
> >> On Jul 9, 2018, at 14:42, Mike Miller <address@hidden> wrote:
> >> 
> >> If an application uses Octave's APIs, then that application is a derived
> >> work of Octave and must be distributed under the same GPLv3 terms as
> >> Octave itself.
> >  
> > I don’t think that is a good way to put it. That makes it sound like
> > user programs in Octave must be licensed under GPL restrictions.
> 
> Mike is accurate, but could be interpreted incorrectly.
> 
> If an application uses Octave's APIs, then that application is a derived
> work of Octave. If the application is distributed, it must be
> distributed under the same GPLv3 terms as Octave itself.

Thank you for rewording that :)

Also, I think Brad is referring to the API of the Octave interpreter,
the set of functions that m-file scripts and functions have access to.
I'm not sure which APIs Ian was referring to.

It's true I was originally thinking of programs that use Octave's C++
API, not user programs written in the Octave language.

If a user program uses the Matlab API, and just happens to run
successfully in Octave, then it is arguably not a derived work of
Octave, it is just data that Octave happens to interpret correctly.

If a user program, even if it is just an m-file, calls
'very_special_optimized_octave_function' and relies upon its results,
then it might be reasonable to argue that it is a derived work of that
function.

> If the application is not distributed, then (afaik) the GPL terms do not
> apply.

Similarly, if an application is only distributed to three users, then it
is possible that only those three users are entitled to their rights
granted by the GPL.

-- 
mike

Attachment: signature.asc
Description: PGP signature


reply via email to

[Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread]