[Python-Dev] GPL'd python code vs Python2.6 linked against OpenSSL

Joao S. O. Bueno jsbueno at python.org.br
Thu Mar 10 05:10:38 CET 2011


On Thu, Mar 10, 2011 at 12:49 AM, Westley Martínez <anikom15 at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Wed, 2011-03-09 at 18:20 -0500, James Y Knight wrote:
>> It's well known that OpenSSL is incompatible with the GPL. [1] Python (from 2.6) is *always* linked against openssl, instead of waiting for you to "import ssl".
>>
>> Doesn't this mean it's now impossible (rather, a license violation) to distribute a GPL'd python program (or to use a GPL'd library in your python program)? This seems like a problem...
>>
>> Thanks to Ulrik Sverdrup  (http://lists.debian.org/debian-python/2011/03/msg00082.html) for pointing this out...
>>
>> James
>>
>> [1] http://people.gnome.org/~markmc/openssl-and-the-gpl.html
>
> Is it legal to distribute GPL programs that use the Win32 API?

Of course it is -- otherwise no program running on windows could ever
be under the GPL.
You probably are  thinking of Python programs that would specifically
use the win32 extensions --
but implicitly any program, including binary programs, using Windows
will have to use some API from
the OS in order to communicate with the rest of the system and the world.

This "system library" exception could not apply automatically to
Python win32 if its terms where too restrictive or if
it was a component hard to set up, or with a high commercial cost
(neither is the case). But even then, since the licensing
of a Software is ultimately upon its authors, they are always OK to
add special  exceptions to the License file
distributed with the program, stating that this or that library is
exempted from the GPL terms.

What one can't do is to take a work under the GPL, build upon it, and
in this process make use of a library or module
with a license incompatible with the GPL, and redistribute that work
(though, note that even then one is free
to use such a work on his own systems). Because then he'd have to add
that exception to the original
license.

   js
 -><-
That is clear from the examples on the FAQ.


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