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jlechner |
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
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<!DOCTYPE html
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PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
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"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
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<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">
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<head>
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<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" />
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<meta name="AUTHOR" content="pme@gcc.gnu.org (Phil Edwards)" />
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<meta name="KEYWORDS" content="libstdc++, license, licence" />
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<meta name="DESCRIPTION" content="Copying restrictions for libstdc++." />
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<meta name="GENERATOR" content="vi and eight fingers" />
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<title>libstdc++-v3 copying</title>
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<link rel="StyleSheet" href="../lib3styles.css" type="text/css" />
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<link rel="Start" rev="Copyright" href="../documentation.html" type="text/html"
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title="GNU C++ Standard Library" />
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</head>
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<body>
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<h1 class="centered"><a name="top">Licenses for the Library</a></h1>
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<p>There are two licenses affecting GNU libstdc++-v3: one for the code, and
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one for the documentation. Here we will describe both of them, and try
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to answer some of the widespread questions. If you have more questions,
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ask the FSF or the
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<a href="http://gcc.gnu.org/lists.html">gcc mailing list</a>; the person
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writing this page is a programmer, not a lawyer.
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</p>
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<hr />
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<h2>The Code: Runtime GPL</h2>
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<p>The source code of libstdc++-v3 is distributed under version 2 of the
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<a href="COPYING">GNU General Public License</a>, with the so-called
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"runtime exception," as follows (or see any header or
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implementation file):
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</p>
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<pre>
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As a special exception, you may use this file as part of a free software
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library without restriction. Specifically, if other files instantiate
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templates or use macros or inline functions from this file, or you compile
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this file and link it with other files to produce an executable, this
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file does not by itself cause the resulting executable to be covered by
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the GNU General Public License. This exception does not however
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invalidate any other reasons why the executable file might be covered by
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the GNU General Public License.
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</pre>
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<p>Hopefully that text is self-explanatory. If it isn't, you need to speak
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to your lawyer, or the Free Software Foundation.
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</p>
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<!-- Most of the Q&A's are based on, paraphrased from, and outright stolen
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from this thread:
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http://gcc.gnu.org/ml/libstdc++/2000-q2/subjects.html#00050
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-->
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<p><strong>Q: So any program which uses libstdc++ falls under the GPL?</strong>
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<br />A: <strong>No.</strong> The special exception permits use of the
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library in proprietary applications.
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</p>
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<p><strong>Q: How is that different from the GNU {Lesser,Library}
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GPL?</strong>
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<!-- Quoting Jason Merrill from the thread above: -->
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<br />A: The LGPL requires that users be able to replace the LGPL code with a
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modified version; this is trivial if the library in question is a C
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shared library. But there's no way to make that work with C++, where
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much of the library consists of inline functions and templates, which
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are expanded inside the code that uses the library. So to allow people
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to replace the library code, someone using the library would have to
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distribute their own source, rendering the LGPL equivalent to the GPL.
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</p>
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<p><strong>Q: I see. So, what restrictions <em>are</em> there on
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programs that use the library?</strong>
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<br />A: None. We encourage such programs to be released as open source,
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but we won't punish you or sue you if you choose otherwise.
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</p>
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<hr />
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<h2>The Docs: FDL</h2>
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<p>The documentation shipped with the library and made available over the
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web, including the pages generated from source comments, are copyrighted
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by the Free Software Foundation, and placed under
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the <a href="COPYING.DOC">GNU Free Documentation License version 1.1</a>.
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There are no Front-Cover Texts, no Back-Cover Texts, and
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<!-- as far as I know -->
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no Invariant Sections.
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</p>
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<p>If you plan on making copies of the documentation, please let us know.
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We can probably offer suggestions.
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</p>
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<!-- ####################################################### -->
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<hr />
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<p class="fineprint"><em>
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Comments and suggestions about this page are welcome, and may be sent to
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<a href="mailto:libstdc++@gcc.gnu.org">the libstdc++ mailing list</a>.
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Comments or questions about the licenses themselves are also welcome, and
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should be directed to the GCC list as descibed above.
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</em></p>
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</body>
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</html>
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