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Posted by Anonymous on 07/24/07 06:38
Jerry Stuckle wrote:
> >> No, but does it require Joomla to run? Does it call their API's?
> >
> > Irrelevant.
> >
>
> Not at all. Joomla is quite within their rights to say if your code
> interfaces to them, it must meet certain conditions - like GPL.
No. The person using my program together with Joomla must have the right
to use Joomla and the right to use my program. Nothing more and nothing
less. Calling Joomla functions from within my program only makes my
program useless for people not wanting to use Joomla or adhere to its
license.
> > As long as what Toby wrote is true (that the plugin does not use any
> > Joomla code) there is no licensing issue.
> >
> > Try to look at it from a different angle: If you want to give a program
> > you wrote the ability to shut down the computer, do you need to own the
> > rights to Windows or ask Microsoft for permission to use the ExitWindows
> > function?
>
> If it interfaces to Joomla, it uses their code.
No, it doesn't. It just calls a function which is unavaliable. If the
function is unavaliable my program does not run. That's it. If Joomla
happens to have functions that have the same name and make sense in the
context so that my program actually does something useful, that's great.
But that does not make my program a part of Joomla or Joomla a part of
my program.
To get this straight (so that no one can misunderstand): Of course, if I
provide a ready to use package which contains Joomla plus my program I
have to put the whole package under the GPL. Because I would not have
the right to do so without accepting the GPL.
However, if I choose to provide my program in a nonfunctional single
package which only contains my code I can choose to use any license I
like. And users who want to use my program and put Joomla and my program
together will have to abide by both li
>
> And actually, yes, you need permission to use the ExitWindows function
> to call it. But read your compiler license. It specifically gives you
> permission to do so.
LOL! And in what way, shape or form could IBM/Borland/the GCC
team/insert compiler company of your choice here give me a license to
call code that was written by Microsoft?
Nope, the same principle I described above also works here: I don't need
to ask anyone if I am allowed to call a function called ExitWindows. If
my program just stops because such a function doesn't exist, that's bad
luck for me. If it does exist, that's fine, but doesn't make my program
part of Windows.
The user is responsible for bringing together a valid Windows license
(and thus a legally owned copy of the user32.dll which contains this
function) and my program (of course just as legally licensed by my
terms).
If what you say were true Microsoft could simply forbid anyone to
program for Windows because it is practically impossible to program for
Windows without using any Windows API.
Your technical advice is usually very good (even though a bit uppity at
times) but you don't seem equally well versed in the judicial side of
technology.
Bye!
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