On Thu, Aug 11, 2005 at 01:15:01AM -0700, Jeremy Drake wrote: > >From what I have been able to piece together from the archives of prior > discussions on this topic, it appears that one cannot write a proprietary > vfs module, correct? > > If that is true, how far does the non-proprietary nature need to extend? > For instance, would it be allowed to write a vfs module which talks to > Oracle to get the data which backs the filesystem rather than an actual > filesystem? Even if it involves linking against Oracle's > proprietary OCI library for calls into the database? > > Quoting from a message from the archives which I found in my searches > (http://lists.samba.org/archive/samba-technical/2002-February/019881.html): > > "For example, a vfs plugin that links to Oracle as a backend would > be GPL, but Oracle itself would not come under the GPL. This is > because Oracle is a program that is of itself functional without > Samba." > > Say I work for a company, and I wish to write a vfs driver which > interfaces with the company's proprietary product. What would be a > reasonably efficient mechanism to do this while not violating any license > terms for samba? Would this be writing a GPL vfs module which calls into > the company's proprietary libraries? This would seem to be the case if > writing an Oracle vfs client is allowed, since the only mechanism for > calling into Oracle from C is, AFAIK, via OCI, which is a proprietary > library (either directly or indirectly, such as through ODBC). > > Another clarification which I believe would be beneficial to the > community would be, do vfs modules have to be GPL and only GPL, or could > they be instead some other OSI-approved license? > > Thanks for any clarification you can provide, and I hope I don't trigger > some sort of licensing holy war on the list ;)
If you want to link to proprietary code from a Samba VFS you need to talk to a lawyer. No other advice will do. It's a very dicey thing to do and most ways of doing it will not be legal. Seek legal advice from your company. Jeremy. -- To unsubscribe from this list go to the following URL and read the instructions: https://lists.samba.org/mailman/listinfo/samba