[Bdi4emc-help] Re: Where is the source code for the versions of emc and axis on bdi 4.30 and 4.38?

Wed Jan 18 14:40:43 CET 2006

On Wed, Jan 18, 2006 at 11:24:33AM +0000, Paul wrote:
> dpkg-buildpackage will always fail to build the emc-1.0 package. To 
> successfully build the emc-1.0-xx.deb requires (amongst other things), m-a, 
> dh_helper, and a few extra packages from the experimental branch. The 
> emc-modules package is dependant on a specific kernel package version and can 
> only be built along side that one kernel. May be when m-a has been fully 
> debugged and migrated through to "stable" we can look at fixing this minor 
> problem.

I should not need to remind anyone of what the GNU GPL says, or that
anaconda, the Linux kernel, rtai, emc, and axis (among other packages
you modify and distribute) are licensed by the GNU GPL, but I will
anyway (emphasis mine, text from GPL v2 section 3):
    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*.

The "works" you are distributing are emc_1.0-38_i386.deb,
python2.3-axis_1.1+cvs20051221_i386.deb, etc, and so the "complete
source" you must supply includes not only the source files you have
finally begun to put online, but the "associated interface definition
files" (e.g., the required headers), and the "scripts used to control
compilation and installation of the executable" (e.g., the contents of
the debian/ subdirectory, and any other scripts you use to perform the
build)

Until it is possible for anyone to download the source for these
packages, and rebuild them from that source into an equivalent binary
package, the requirements of the GPL have not been satisfied.  It is a
red herring to talk about whether the build process is experimental,
fragile, or the like.

Failure to comply with the GPL isn't just a "minor problem", either.
When you fail to comply, your rights under the GPL are terminated, and
nothing else but the license grants you the right to modify or
distribute the programs.

Jeff