From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S263891AbTLJTrY (ORCPT ); Wed, 10 Dec 2003 14:47:24 -0500 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id S263893AbTLJTrY (ORCPT ); Wed, 10 Dec 2003 14:47:24 -0500 Received: from mail.scitechsoft.com ([63.195.13.67]:37057 "EHLO mail.scitechsoft.com") by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S263891AbTLJTrX (ORCPT ); Wed, 10 Dec 2003 14:47:23 -0500 From: "Kendall Bennett" Organization: SciTech Software, Inc. To: Linus Torvalds Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2003 11:48:45 -0800 MIME-Version: 1.0 Subject: RE: Linux GPL and binary module exception clause? CC: "'Andre Hedrick'" , "'Arjan van de Ven'" , Valdis.Kletnieks@vt.edu, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Message-ID: <3FD7081D.31093.61FCFA36@localhost> References: <00af01c3bf41$2db12770$d43147ab@amer.cisco.com> In-reply-to: X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Windows (v4.02) Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Content-description: Mail message body Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Linus Torvalds wrote: > In fact, a user program written in 1991 is actually still likely > to run, if it doesn't do a lot of special things. So user programs > really are a hell of a lot more insulated than kernel modules, > which have been known to break weekly. IMHO (and IANAL of course), it seems a bit tenuous to me the argument that just because you deliberating break compatibility at the module level on a regular basis, that they are automatically derived works. Clearly the module interfaces could be stabilised and published, and if you consider the instance of a single kernel version in time, that module ABI *is* published and *is* stable *for that version*. Just because you make an active effort to change things and actively *not* document the ABI other than in the source code across kernel versions, doesn't automatically make a module a derived work. IMHO anyway. Regards, --- Kendall Bennett Chief Executive Officer SciTech Software, Inc. Phone: (530) 894 8400 http://www.scitechsoft.com ~ SciTech SNAP - The future of device driver technology! ~