Re: [tlug] Debian rant

["Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen@example.com>]

Jawaad Mahmood writes:

 > Without the tool chain, it makes no sense to make the code open.
 > After all, no one will be able to build / modify / hack the code.
 > 
 > I believe this was one of the GPL2 problems that were resolved in
 > GPL3.

No.  You may be thinking of the "if your binaries need some kind of
key to work, you must provide it" clause.

OTOH, all versions of the GPL have some wording about "full source",
that's nothing new.  That includes build scripts that are specific to
the program in question.  It does not include generic tools necessary
to a working program, though -- if it did, that would mean that a
person who distributes a Java program would also have to distribute a
VM and a development environment. So acquiring the necessary tools is
the users' problem under all free software licenses; the point of a
free software license is to grant permission to exercise the various
freedoms, not to help the user to do it.

 > open source purist

That's one for the OXYMORONS file! :-)  (Free software advocates are
purists, open source hackers are pragmatic.  That's why the movement
split in the first place.)