Re: [tlug] JFS file system license

["Nguyen Vu Hung" <vuhung16plus@example.com>]

Hello,

 On Mon, Oct 27, 2008 at 7:15 PM, Godwin Stewart <gstewart@example.com> wrote:
> On 27/10/08 08:53, Nguyen Vu Hung wrote:
>
>> A short question regarding the JFS file sytem:
>> It is licensed under GPL so if I use JFS as my file sytem
>> and a program X on it, do I have to opensources the program X
>>  when I pass the machine using it to the third parties?
>
> Does your application X (I assume you don't mean the graphics subsystem X as
> in X.org) link to the code managing the JFS filesystem?
:s/ program X/program foobar/

No, it doesn't link to the code of JFS.

The difference between a filesystem and and program( for example X.org)
is that: The file system sits on the bottom of the OS.
Therefore unless we use memory based filesystem( like tmpfs),
we have to place our files on the filesystem, i.e, actually use it.

The filesystem is not a library, so I can't see any relation between GPL/LGPL
in JFS. We don't access JFS directly but through some system calls provided
by kernels( note: Under Linux, JFS is a part of it).

And the license of the kernel is GPL too.
And what happens if my Hello World program calls fopen()?

> I wouldn't expect it
> to get anywhere near it but leave those details to the kernel. In the same
> way you don't have to GPL an application written and distributed on a system
> using ext2/3.
This metaphor has made my doubt clear.

> BTW, please refrain from posting in HTML.
Gmail supports smileys in HTML emails and I found that
it is very convinient to express my "sorry" emotions in fancy HTML :)


-- 
Best Regards,
Nguyen Hung Vu ( Nguyễn Vũ Hưng )
vuhung16plus{remove}@example.com , YIM: vuhung16 , Skype: vuhung16dg
A brief profile: http://www.hn.is.uec.ac.jp/~vuhung/Nguyen.Vu.Hung.html