Re: Bug#333603: ITP: acpica-unix -- an ASL compiler/decompiler
[Mattia Dongili] * Package name: acpica-unix iasl compiles ASL (ACPI Source Language) into AML (ACPI Machine Language). This AML is suitable for inclusion as a DSDT in system firmware. It also can disassemble AML, for debugging purposes. The name is a bit silly, IMO. It's not as though Debian is likely to get a acpica-win32 package in the near future. The binary package should probably be named either 'acpica' or 'iasl'. The source package could, I suppose, be either 'acpica' or 'acpica-unix'. The source package name matters less because users won't see it directly in most cases. I'm not very comfortable with the licence language and I'd like somebody to proof-read it before uploading this stuff. I'd say this licence grants enough rights, but there are also a lot of must. I'll leave debian-legal to dissect this one in detail - but some bits of the license are sloppy. For example, requiring approval from the US Dept. of Commerce before exporting the software - from *any* country - is probably not the intent; they just forgot to stipulate that they meant exporting it from the United States. Forcing all licensees, regardless of location, to agree to comply with the U.S. Export Administration Regulations is silly, and probably unenforceable. The copyright notice says all rights reserved right before the rest of the license spells out several rights which are, in fact, not reserved. The license also tells us we *must* read it before *using* the software, as though it were some sort of click-wrap - this too is probably unenforceable, but if enforceable, is non-free. (How is Debian supposed to ensure that users read the license before using the software? What if all packages said that?) signature.asc Description: Digital signature
Re: Bug#333603: ITP: acpica-unix -- an ASL compiler/decompiler
On Fri, October 14, 2005 10:46 am, Peter Samuelson said: [Mattia Dongili] * Package name: acpica-unix iasl compiles ASL (ACPI Source Language) into AML (ACPI Machine Language). This AML is suitable for inclusion as a DSDT in system firmware. It also can disassemble AML, for debugging purposes. The name is a bit silly, IMO. It's not as though Debian is likely to get a acpica-win32 package in the near future. The binary package should probably be named either 'acpica' or 'iasl'. The source package could, I suppose, be either 'acpica' or my plan is iasl for the binary. I prefer to stay with the acpica-unix (as named upstream) for the source package instead. I'm not very comfortable with the licence language and I'd like somebody to proof-read it before uploading this stuff. I'd say this licence grants enough rights, but there are also a lot of must. I'll leave debian-legal to dissect this one in detail - but some bits of the license are sloppy. For example, requiring approval from the US Dept. of Commerce before exporting the software - from *any* country - is probably not the intent; they just forgot to stipulate that they meant exporting it from the United States. Forcing all licensees, regardless of location, to agree to comply with the U.S. Export Administration Regulations is silly, and probably unenforceable. The copyright notice says all rights reserved right before the rest of the license spells out several rights which are, in fact, not reserved. and just after saying Some or all of this work - Copyright ... The license also tells us we *must* read it before *using* the software, as though it were some sort of click-wrap - this too is probably unenforceable, but if enforceable, is non-free. (How is Debian supposed to ensure that users read the license before using the software? What if all packages said that?) as said on d-legal I also asked on acpi-devel come clarifications, here's the answer: http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?l=acpi4linuxm=112916177304146w=2 This actually makes me a little more comfortable with packaging this stuff in main but I'm still open for a d-legal input. -- mattia :wq! -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of unsubscribe. Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Bug#333603: ITP: acpica-unix -- an ASL compiler/decompiler
Scripsit Peter Samuelson [EMAIL PROTECTED] The copyright notice says all rights reserved right before the rest of the license spells out several rights which are, in fact, not reserved. Those several rights are probably (I haven't read the full license) granted only subject to certain conditions. It's not that farfetched to imagine that you need to reserve the rights before you can release them on conditions later. But in fact All rights reserved is just legal boilerplate that has no freedom-related consequences at all. It used to be (before the USA joined the Berne treaty, iirc) that this particular language was a formal necessity for asserting any copyright in the first place. Lawyers stick to it because of the odd chance that its absence might impress somebody to think, contrary to legal reality, that the work is not properly copyrighted. Many lay programmers stick to it because they don't know better. It is not harmful, so we generally ignore it. Not having read the entire license, I will not comment on its freedom in general. Go to -legal if interested. -- Henning Makholm And here we could talk about the Plato's Cave thing for a while---the Veg-O-Matic of metaphors---it slices! it dices! -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of unsubscribe. Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Bug#333603: ITP: acpica-unix -- an ASL compiler/decompiler
Henning Makholm writes: But in fact All rights reserved is just legal boilerplate that has no freedom-related consequences at all. It used to be (before the USA joined the Berne treaty, iirc) that this particular language was a formal necessity for asserting any copyright in the first place. It was never even required in the US. There once was some sort of a pan-American copyright treaty and the phrase was required by some member countries. -- John Hasler -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of unsubscribe. Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
