Well, at least I seem to be convinced by Steffen's argument (and if I weren't, I guess I can still be using InfoZIP's ZIP/UNZIP and UPX-UCL as compressor software.
tom ehlert escribió:
This means: you distribute your executable inside a compressed file inside another compressed file.I argued that coexistence of data, stub and and header is "mere
aggregation", just like combining files in a ZIP file or in a diskette.
SK> No, because you "modify" the GPL'ed Program prior distribution and not SK> by-pack it. SK> That's why I assume that an un-aPack'er would solve the problem - you then SK> introduce aPack as an archiver, which is entitled to by unarchived by the SK> user.
Here comes the fun part:
Both EMM386 and HIMEM(64) are (currently) released under GPL.
I distribute them in compressed form - and will continue to do so.
You could as well even pack the final zip file inside a RAR file, that would be a compressed file inside a compressed file inside a compressed file. You would gain nothing, though.
So *I* may distribute it in any form *I* like.With source, etc.
According to GPL, *YOU* may not ditribute this, because the source ofIf this be so, then RAR and PKZIP can no longer be chosen as file packers for exactly the same reason.
the exepacker stub isn't available.
However, the stub is nothing else than uncompressing software, that even if it is inside the same "operating system FILE structure" has no links to it (AFAIK), and there are no other calls inter the stub and the program other than calls to main() and such, just what the OS does (and thus can't be consider linkage, I would say; a different story is the RTL, that was agreed to be covered by that exception clause). Thus should be considered as different components.
Otherwise it wouldn't be legal either that you provide an ISO file of a CD-ROM that contains GPL and non-GPL software: both are different types of sotware inside the same "file" entity.
Aitor
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