From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 From: Massimo Maggi Subject: Re: Posix ACL on non-GPL modules. Date: Sat, 12 Oct 2013 14:51:38 +0200 Message-ID: <525945DA.6040908@massimo-maggi.eu> References: <52588A1B.3040407@massimo-maggi.eu> <20131012081444.GA16821@infradead.org> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit To: linux-fsdevel@vger.kernel.org Return-path: Received: from mmserver.massimo-maggi.eu ([94.23.66.90]:47673 "EHLO mmserver.massimo-maggi.eu" rhost-flags-OK-OK-OK-OK) by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S1750714Ab3JLMvX (ORCPT ); Sat, 12 Oct 2013 08:51:23 -0400 Received: from [IPv6:2001:b05:f:ffff::25] (unknown [IPv6:2001:b05:f:ffff::25]) by mmserver.massimo-maggi.eu (Postfix) with ESMTPSA id 04EF512577 for ; Sat, 12 Oct 2013 14:51:21 +0200 (CEST) In-Reply-To: <20131012081444.GA16821@infradead.org> Sender: linux-fsdevel-owner@vger.kernel.org List-ID: On 12/10/2013 10:14, Christoph Hellwig wrote: > attempts to bypas the license we put on the code and vilationg our copyrights. I seriously appreciate the clear description of what you were thinking when reading my message. I will also be clear: My intention is to fully respect developer's decisions to protect APIs and (obviously) respect laws. Original author's decision in this regard is clear: posix_acl_init,posix_acl_alloc,posix_acl_valid,posix_acl_equiv_mode,posix_acl_from_mode,posix_acl_chmod, posix_acl_create are explicitly exported for modules with _ANY_ license. Therefore I'm authorized to use them in a CDDL-licensed module. There is one function, posix_acl_release, whose use is clearly related to posix_acl_alloc, which does not have a clearly expressed export policy, as it is an inline function written in a header file. Through multiple macro expansions, it calls a GPL-only symbol. Being an inline function, the linker won't allow that. Do you agree with me that this is a quite weak to express the decision to not allow the use of Posix ACL's functions in non-GPL modules? This is the reason why I tought this might be an oversight. If original authors think that Posix ACL APIs should not be used from non-GPL modules, I suggest you to export also: posix_acl_init posix_acl_alloc posix_acl_valid posix_acl_equiv_mode posix_acl_from_mode posix_acl_chmod posix_acl_create as GPL-only symbols. Currently, they are available to modules with any license. Your intent of protecting Filesystem APIs will be clear to anyone and will be respected without any more questions on this mailing list. This is an inconsistency that IMHO should be fixed. Fixing it in a more liberal way or in a more strict way is up to the original authors. Sorry for the long message, but I felt misunderstood and wanted to make my point clear. Regards, Massimo Maggi