On Thu 09 May 2024 at 16:24:55 (-0000), Curt wrote:
> On 2024-05-09, Charles Curley wrote:
> > On Thu, 9 May 2024 14:09:52 -0000 (UTC) Curt wrote:
> >
> >> I don't think there is a process by which you could add closed-source
> >> IBM software to a bona fide Debian depository, even the non-free one,
> >> which only seems to contain firmware and drivers for closed-sourced
> >> *hardware*.
> >
> > Isn't that what the non-free archive is for?
> > https://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/ch-archive#s-non-free
>
> Maybe you're right. I can't seem to find a comprehensive list of
> non-free packages,
Would APT's lists do, assuming you have non-free in your sources.list?
/var/lib/apt/lists/deb.debian.org_debian_dists_bookworm_non-free_{binary-amd64_Packages,i18n_Translation-en}
(Adjust for source address, distribution, architecture, language, etc.)
> nor anything equivalent to this intricate IBM
> software.
No idea. Cluster Technology is beyond my pay-grade.
> I mean, if non-free means: "anything at all that can be
> reverse-engineered by our software teams," then I've misunderstood its
> meaning and purpose (which is perfectly possible).
Well, no; you could have software that's gratis, open-source,
and redistributable, but if it couldn't be used, say, for
commercial purposes, that would have to go into Debian's
non-free archive rather than the main distribution.
It has nothing to do with reverse engineering per se.
Cheers,
David.
