Re: Question on how to submit changed code

Dave Chinner
2015-12-01T22:28:12Z

On Tue, Dec 01, 2015 at 06:03:23PM +0000, Roger Willcocks wrote:
>
> On Tue, 2015-12-01 at 18:44 +0100, Carlos Maiolino wrote:
> > On Tue, Dec 01, 2015 at 05:41:00PM +0000, Roger Willcocks wrote:
> > >
> > > On Tue, 2015-12-01 at 15:16 +0000, Epp, Mike wrote:
> > > > I have changed code in libxfs and repair projects for xfsprogs. I
> > > > don’t view the changes as desired for ongoing deployment, as they
> > > > allowed scanning of active volumes and bring the chance of false
> > > > errors. To stay compliant with GNU GPL though we must publish the
> > > > code. What are the steps I need to follow to publish the changes? Do
> > > > I need to publish just the source files I changed, the entire projects
> > > > I changes, or all of xfsprogs?
> > > >
> > >
> > > You don't need to publish the code but you do need to make a full copy
> > > of the code, including your clearly marked changes, available to your
> > > customers.
> > >
> > > See GPL section 3.
> >
> > Just FYI, xfsprogs is licensed under GPL V2, not V3, they are different in many
> > aspects.
> >
>
> xfsprogs source code (e.g. xfs_dir2_node.c) says:
>
> * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
> * modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
> * published by the Free Software Foundation.
>
> which probably makes it V1.

Please do not make guesses when it comes to the code licenses
because they are probably wrong. That file is most definitely GPL
v2, because it is a direct copy of the kernel code...

> http://linux-xfs.oss.sgi.narkive.com/drJRUsIn/xfsprogs-xfsdump-what-flavor-of-gpl

Just to clarify xfsprogs from various license statements and
requirements. From doc/VERSIONS and debian/copyright:

The library named "libhandle" and the headers in "xfslibs-dev" are
licensed under Version 2.1 of the GNU Lesser General Public License.

From other files:

libxfs/radix_tree.c, include/radix_tree.h are GPL v2+

libxfs/* contains direct copies of kernel code and code flows in
both directions, so these must be must be GPL v2 licensed code as
this is what hte kernel is licensed under. The exception here is the
header files that are installed via xfslibs-dev, which means those
files are dual licensed GPLv2/LGPLv2.1.

And since everything else in xfsprogs is statically linked to libxfs
the rest of the code inherits the GPLv2 license of libxfs, and hence
also carry a GPL v2 license.

Hence the best assumption to make is that the xfsprogs source code
code is GPLv2, except where expressly stated to be LGPLv2.1 or
GPLv2+....

Cheers,

Dave.
--
Dave Chinner
david@fromorbit.com