On Tue, Feb 9, 2010 at 3:59 PM, Dr. David Kirkby <david.kir...@onetel.net> wrote: > Tom Boothby wrote: >> >> Context is important. The GPL doesn't say that every GPL'd >> interactive program must print a banner. It says that if such a >> banner is printed by a current GPL'd programs, then *if you distribute >> a modified copy*, that copy must also print the banner. > > I would have thought many of the programs in Sage are modified in some way.
I'm not convinced that this applies here. Sage is a software distribution, like an OS. When I log into my Linux system via the GUI, I get no warning about lack of warranty -- though Ubuntu is certainly an interactive program which includes modified GPL'd programs which display such banners. The reason I don't think that this applies here is that we allow the user to run the modified versions of these various programs, and we haven't modified them to squelch their banners. Though Sage *ships* modified versions, it isn't itself a modified version of a GPL'd program that prints such a banner. That said, I agree with Tim -- we should probably ask the FSF about this. > >> The "most ordinary manner of running Sage" isn't running a modified >> interactive GPL'd program. Looks to me like the closest we've got is >> iPython, which is BSD'd, so we don't need to print its banner. And >> the notebook is its own project, so it doesn't have to inherit >> anybody's banner either. > > But would you not agree the notebook should state its GPL ? I would not agree that we're somehow obliged to do so -- making this a feature request, not a bug. Given my druthers, the notebook would be BSD licensed -- in which case, it certainly should not state that it's GPL'd. -- 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
