[U-Boot] [PATCH v4 4/5] usb/gadget: fastboot: add sparse image definitions

Wolfgang Denk
2014-08-07T21:36:50Z

Dear Jeroen,

In message <53E3EC54.4090002@myspectrum.nl> you wrote:
>
> >>>> So the argument about incompatible licenses is valid here. Should
> >>>> u-boot switch to GPLv3 you need to hunt down that file again and this
> >>> You would have to rewrite the major part of U-Boot or to cripple it
> >> noise ^ not
> >>> to uselessness if you try to release it under GPLv3. I cannot see
> >>> anybody investing any efforts in that direction; all these threads
> >>> about a potential GPLv3 switch are just a hollow scarecrow.
> > sorry, can't parse that.
>
> no, this was nicely formatted in my mail editor. Just wanted to point out
> you forgot a "not". You mentioned "to cripple it" you more then like ment
> "to _not_ cripple it". But the whitespace got lost along the way.

No, I did NOT forget a "not".

There is an awful lot of GPLv2 (V2 only) code in U-Boot. Many of the
most interesting features thaty have been imported from the Linux
kernel are GPLv2 only. Either you have to rewrite all this code. I
don't see any volunteers for that in the community, and neither I see
any commercial interest for that. So alternatively you would have to
remove resp. disable in the configuration all such code - which would
cripple U-Boot, as it would remove a lot of really useful functionali-
ty, rendering it more or less useless for many practical use cases.

All people claiming "U-Boot will go GPLv3 tomorrow" are just
spreading FUD.

Best regards,

Wolfgang Denk

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