Re: Linux GPL and binary module exception clause?

Oliver Hunt
2003-12-10T22:49:54Z

Linus Torvalds wrote:
...
> There's a fundamental difference between "plugins" and "kernel modules":
> intent.
>
...

The key difference between a plugin and a module(from my understanding
of plugins in browser/application sense) is how information is passed.

Says we have the flash plugin for some random browser, say BrowserApp
1.01, now the browser comes across a flash file, now it calls the flash
plugin, passing both the file, and the graphics context the plugin can
draw to. Flash does it's rendering and then shoves it's output to the
canvas: that's all it can do, it may make a request (say,
browser::getURL) but that's about it, and the browser can always ignore it.

Now there is competitor to BrowserApp known as BrowserOS, instead of
plugins it has modules. Now, when BrowserOS comes across a flash file
it loads it's flash module and passes the url, at which point the module
takes over, and allocates a graphics context for it to draw to(see it
controls what happens, rather than the otherway round). Now say the
module wants to load a webpage it now tells the address bar to change,
then it makes internal changes (loads the new url, etc), that the
browser _cannot_ stop, it is effectively part of the program...

--Oliver