I just received this message on this subject, and since it has more
authoritative information on this subject, I decided to update my
summary.
Mike Iglesias Internet: iglesias_at_draco.acs.uci.edu
University of California, Irvine phone: 949-824-6926
Office of Academic Computing FAX: 949-824-2069
From: "Jon 'maddog' Hall, USG Senior Leader" <hall_at_zk3.dec.com>
Mike,
I was forwarded your letter by someone who read it in the alpha-osf-managers
list.
Since I am one of the people "responsible" for Linux inside Compaq, let me
clarify this once and for all (I wish):
*There is royalty-baring code inside of Digital Unix libraries that does not*
*allow them to be statically linked with an object and run on an unlicensed *
*machine legally. *
If your CSLG license does extend to your Linux system, either because it was
once licensed for Digital Unix, or else you have specifically bought a
license for it under CSLG, then you are o.k., for that means the royalties
that *Compaq owes other companies* have been paid back to them.
However, be aware that normally CSLG covers free distribution of everything
BUT the base license for the DU system, and recently was changed to disclude
clone machines altogether.
This has nothing to do with whether Digital supports the Linux movement or not,
or whether we sell our compilers for Linux or not. It is a matter that we
owe royalties to third parties on their intellectual property, which we pay
when we sell a DU license.
I have (just today) posted a suggestion to the axp-list_at_redhat.com:
> Folks,
> I was thinking (always a dangerous thing to have happen), and I
> wondered what would happen if someone took the Linux libraries over
> to Digital Unix and compiled them with the DEC C compiler, to
> generate Linux libraries with ECOFF file format.
> Then, if you took the ECOFF libraries that you built that way from
> Linux sources, and statically linked the code of your application
> (also compiled with DEC C), that should run back on Alpha Linux, and
> (perhaps) give better performance than GNU "C" could.
> Has anyone tried this?
> md
This would be legal, since only the derived code from the compilers would
end up on the Linux machine.
I am very sorry that we can not license the DU libraries on Alpha Linux at
this time. Believe me, if I had my way they would be there by now.
But I think this idea may be a good compromise for the present.
Warmest Regards,
Jon "maddog" Hall
--
=============================================================================
Jon "maddog" Hall Internet: maddog_at_zk3.dec.com
Senior Leader, UNIX Software Group Executive Director, Linux International
Compaq Computer Corporation Linux International
Mailstop ZK03-2/U15 80 Amherst St.
110 Spit Brook Rd. Amherst, N.H. 03031-3032 U.S.A.
Nashua, N.H. 03062-2698 U.S.A.
WWW: http://www.compaq.com WWW: http://www.li.org
Voice: +1.603.884.1341 Voice: +1.603.672.4557
FAX: +1.603.884.6424 Board Member: Uniforum Association
Office: ZK03-2/V15 Board Member: USENIX Association
Received on Thu Aug 13 1998 - 22:32:02 NZST