Wireshark · Wireshark-dev: Re: [Wireshark-dev] GPL license question

[Phillip Paradis <phillip.paradis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

One might be able to do as Nvidia/ATI et. al. do with their drivers. Create
the plug-in itself as a generic binary module which decodes blocks of data;
it would make no use of the Wireshark APIs and cannot include or link with
any GPL code. Then create a stub that fits between Wireshark's APIs and the
plugin; this would be released as source code along with the binary, and
would also not contain any Wireshark code, though it would contain the
necessary header includes.

1. Distributing the binary plugin with the source to the adapter would not
infringe on the Wireshark copyrights, as no Wireshark code is present.

2. The limitation on linking non-GPL code to GPL code applies to
distribution after linking; if your plugin license forbids redistribution of
linked binaries by end-users, then this is a non-issue.

--
Phil


On 7/12/07 2:11 AM, "Richard van der Hoff" <richardv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> On Thu, 12 Jul 2007, Stratemeier, Frank wrote:

> Wouldn't it be technically
> possible (with modifications, of course) to 
> link the code not statically
> but dynamically?

It's already linked dynamically, and it's still a combined
> work in the 
eyes of the
> GPL.
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