What's the right way to post a change to SAGE_ROOT/COPYING.txt (which is what is displayed when you run license(), as I just discovered)?
It mentions mwrank which is obsolete (we now use eclib which is strictly larger), and the web address it gives for that is 2.5 years out of date. I can provide suitable replacement text. Idea: For all spkgs, the relevant block could be stored inside the spkg in its own COPYING.txt. Then these could somehow be concatenated on building. Well, maybe. John On 9 February 2010 18:35, Robert Bradshaw <rober...@math.washington.edu> wrote: > On Feb 9, 2010, at 12:44 AM, Dr. David Kirkby wrote: > >> From reading the GPL, it would appear that Sage should print more >> information than it currently does when it starts. >> >> Specifically >> >> 1) State the program comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY when it starts up >> in command line mode >> >> 2) Should display the fact the program is GPL if used in a browser, and >> indicate how the user can see a full copy of the license. Currently when run >> in a browser, there is no information about the GPL at all. >> >> >> Section 2 says: >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------- >> c) If the modified program normally reads commands interactively >> when run, you must cause it, when started running for such >> interactive use in the most ordinary way, to print or display an >> announcement including an appropriate copyright notice and a >> notice that there is no warranty (or else, saying that you provide >> a warranty) and that users may redistribute the program under >> these conditions, and telling the user how to view a copy of this >> License. (Exception: if the Program itself is interactive but >> does not normally print such an announcement, your work based on >> the Program is not required to print an announcement.) >> ------------------------------------------------------------------- > > The way I read this is that if you take a program that used to print out the > license information, you're not allowed to omit such information in a > modified version. The rest is just suggestions. > > I strongly dislike huge banners (especially ones full of all caps, legalese, > and political statements) and I think the current banner is good > enough--license() gives you the whole thing. > >> If run from a browser, which is clearly a normal way of using Sage, there >> is no statement at all that the program is GPL at the minute. Looking at >> >> http://t2nb.math.washington.edu:8000/ >> >> I can see >> >> * No indication whatsoever the program is GPL >> * No information it is free >> * No information about how to see the license. >> >> For all an end-user knows, this could be a propriety program. > > The "splash screen" does have a big blub about Open Source. I agree there > should be something, I personally think that a line "Sage is released under > the [http://localhost:8000/GPL.txt | GPL]." would be good enough. > > - Robert > > -- > To post to this group, send an email to sage-devel@googlegroups.com > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to > sage-devel+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/sage-devel > URL: http://www.sagemath.org > -- To post to this group, send an email to sage-devel@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to sage-devel+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sage-devel URL: http://www.sagemath.org
