Re: GPL Question

[Mark Salisbury <mbs@mc.com>]

On Fri, 27 Oct 2000, Jason Wohlgemuth wrote:
> Consider this:
> 
> A subsystem that is statically built into the Linux Kernel is modified 
> to allow the registration of a structure containing function pointers.
> 
> The function pointers corrolate to a set of functions within that subsystem.
> If the new structure of pointers has been registered, the original 
> functions will call the new functions in the structure passing all 
> arguments and returning the return value of the new function.
> 
> With this said, if no structure has been registered, then no 
> functionality is degraded within the kernel.  Only the loss of some cpu 
> time to check the pointers at the top of the old functions.
> 
> Now, if a module is loaded that registers a set of functions that have 
> increased functionality compared to the original functions, if that 
> modules is not based off GPL'd code, must the source code of that module 
> be released under the GPL?
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> Jason Wohlgemuth


the api of the module would be a reimplementation of a GPL'd api
(the function names may have changed, but the base behaviors must be equivalent)

so the question in simple terms might phrased as:

is the API under GPL, or is it the code or are both?

I think the answer is both.
-- 
/*------------------------------------------------**
**   Mark Salisbury | Mercury Computer Systems    **
**   mbs@mc.com     |                             **
**------------------------------------------------**
**  "WYGIWYD - What You Get Is What You Deserve"  **
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