Re: Installing COPYING whatever the previous `value'

[Alexandre Duret-Lutz]

>>> "Ralf" == Ralf Corsepius <address@hidden> writes:

 Ralf> Am Fre, 2002-10-11 um 10.20 schrieb Akim Demaille:
 >> 
 >> I'm not sure Automake is entitled, even with --force, to override
 >> COPYING.  I just happen to run autoreconf -fvi on Flex to upgrade it,
 >> and Automake replaced the BSD license with the GPL...
 Ralf> I know you won't like this answer, but I presume you know the default
 Ralf> mode of automake is --gnu. So if flex comes under a BSD-License it is
 Ralf> not a gnu package in the automake --gnu sense, and therefore should use
 Ralf> AUTOMAKE_OPTIONS=foreign rsp. AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE([foreign]).

(Surprisingly it seems the GNU Standards don't require the use
of a GNU License, but that's not the point.)

 Ralf> Besides this, I also think overriding COPYING is a bad
 Ralf> idea, even in gnu mode, because package authors might not
 Ralf> want to have their COPYING overriden by a "later GPL".

I too think it's not Automake's job to select the package's license.
How about transfering this responsability to autolib?
-- 
Alexandre Duret-Lutz