Re: JTAG debug support for ARM

[Michael Meissner <meissner@cygnus.com>]

On Thu, Jan 25, 2001 at 06:07:38PM -0500, Peter Reilley wrote:
> I do not believe that there is any question of legality.   Gdb
> is commonly used with libraries that are not available as 
> source.   For example; running it on Solaris, etc.   What
> about if I bought the accelerated X server that Red Hat
> sold.   Must I not run gdb?

Quoting from section 3 of the GPL:

	The source code for a work means the preferred form of the work for
	making modifications to it.  For an executable work, complete source
	code means all the source code for all modules it contains, plus any
	associated interface definition files, plus the scripts used to
	control compilation and installation of the executable.  However, as a
	special exception, the source code distributed need not include
	anything that is normally distributed (in either source or binary
	form) with the major components (compiler, kernel, and so on) of the
	operating system on which the executable runs, unless that component
	itself accompanies the executable.

So the answer is you can run GDB providing it was linked against system
libraries, even if you do not have source for those libraries.

> The Linux community recognizes that to win in the public
> arena some software will not be GPL'ed.   Indeed, most
> people actively encourage commercial software to be
> ported to Linux.

However, the Free Software Foundation does have the rights to control software
it writes (or is assigned to it).  If you don't like the controls, you are free
not to use the software.  You are not free to do something with GPL software
that goes against the owners wishes (ie, link with non-GPL software that isn't
provided with the major components of the system).

> I have written GLP'ed software and I have written commercial 
> software.  This project gives me the opportunity to give to the Linux
> community something that previously was only available
> under Windows.

It is GPL, not GLP.

-- 
Michael Meissner, Red Hat, Inc.  (GCC group)
PMB 198, 174 Littleton Road #3, Westford, Massachusetts 01886, USA
Work:	  meissner@redhat.com		phone: +1 978-486-9304
Non-work: meissner@spectacle-pond.org	fax:   +1 978-692-4482