[fpc-pascal] Announces & License question

[Jonas Maebe]

On 28 Feb 2014, at 11:11, Yann Mérignac wrote:

>   - *data2pas* a command line tool that generates pascal include files
>   from a text file description. This is a tool similar to *data2inc*  
> but
>   using a more "pascalish" syntax. (GPL v3+)
>   http://yann.merignac.free.fr/data2pas.html
>   - *CmdLine* is a Free Pascal unit for parsing easily GNU style  
> command
>   line options. (LGPL v3+) http://yann.merignac.free.fr/unit-cmdline.html
>   - *GContnrs* is a generic container collection for Free Pascal. It
>   implements : doubly linked lists, dequeues, hash maps, hash sets,  
> priority
>   queues, queues, stacks, tree maps, tree sets and vectors and some
>   algorithms (sort, shuffle, min, max, ...). (LGPL v3+)
>   http://yann.merignac.free.fr/unit-gcontnrs.html
>   - *UPasConf *a unit that has been designed to create configuration
>   programs in Pascal. It allows you to create programs that mimic  
> the famous
>   './configure' script. It can also create GNU makefiles for your
>   projects. (LGPL v3+) http://yann.merignac.free.fr/unit-upasconf.html
>
> All units are under LGPL v3+ but I am not sure of my choice.

The first item is a program, not a unit. For that one, the license has  
no influence whatsoever of how the output can be used.

> I want the
> units to be usable by anyone in any kind of projects : closed source  
> or
> not, commercial or not, etc... And, I want that any change to the  
> source of
> the units must be made public. Do you think the LGPL is a good  
> choice for
> that goals ?

In theory: yes. In practice: no, because FPC doesn't support dynamic  
linking to the extent that is required to make this painless. You will  
probably want to use the GPL+linking exception (or LGPL + static  
linking exception, as FPC uses, but that it exactly the same thing).  
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPL_linking_exception for the  
general explanation, and http://svn.freepascal.org/svn/fpc/trunk/rtl/COPYING.FPC 
  for how FPC words it.


Jonas