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

Stephen J. Turnbull stephen at xemacs.org
Thu Mar 10 06:41:17 CET 2011 
Joao S. O. Bueno writes:

 > Any libraries commonly avaliable with a CPython instalation can be
 > considered as "system libraries" for GPL purposes - and so
 > this would fall in the "system library exception" as described by the FAQ:

Note that your interpretation would allow Python to distribute
arbitrarily licensed libraries and GPL programs to link with them.
That is surely not the intent of the authors of the GPL, and in the
past, the FSF has explicitly restricted the interpretation of "system
library".  Specifically, in

 > "Major Component", in this context, means a major essential component
 > (kernel, window system, and so on) of the specific operating system
 > (if any) on which the executable work runs, or a compiler used to
 > produce the work, or an object code interpreter used to run it.

the word "essential" would refer to running the compiler or the
operating system or interpreter, not to a component essential to
running the program but in general optional for using the system.

Perhaps this has changed with the advent of GPL v3, but the FSF used
this interpretation to block the consideration of (old-Qt-licensed) Qt
as a system library on GNU/Linux systems, even where distributed by
vendors such as Red Hat.  OTOH, for some reason Motif on Sun and HP
systems, and Windows and Mac GUIs were considered essential.
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