Re: [GtkGLExt] API changes for the next major gtkglext release (glext)

[Arc Riley <ArcRiley pysoy org>]

On Mon, Jan 11, 2010 at 7:32 AM, Mukund Sivaraman <muks banu com> wrote:

We cannot combine code that has a similar license to the BSD license
(non-copyleft), with LGPL licensed (copyleft) code.

You can link in between these, such as a program linking to a library,
but not form a single binary object from it, such as a .so containing
both LGPL and BSD licensed code.

I'm not a lawyer. This is our interpretation of these licenses, and
what we'll stick with.

You are incorrect in your understanding of copyright law.

Copyright law has no concept of "linking", all that matters is what is considered a single copyrighted work.  The LGPL specifically allows "linking", and defines the parameters for this, but that is permission in how LGPL covered work can be used in other works and in no way impedes your ability to include BSD licensed work in an LGPL licensed work.  This is done on a regular basis in the free software community.

If you do not believe or understand this, please consult the fine folk at the Software Freedom Law Center ( http://www.softwarefreedom.org/) who will further clarify this for you.

GLEW is broken now.  It has apparently been fixed in it's development tree, which will not be available to us for 6-12 months after their next release due to the various distribution release cycles.  Our next release is due in 38 days, and as such, GLEW is completely unavailable to us.  gtkglglext.h is ready and works now, it's been widely packaged and distributed, and that is what we are using.

We do not like dependency bloat nor does the Gnome project.  Gnome has far too many dependencies as it is and there is an active, collective push to keep this number from expanding any further.  Removing vital functionality from a library, which on whole only adds a few K to the compiled .so (vs a few hundred K in a separate .so), because another library outside the Gnome project provides it's functionality is not acceptable.