Hi all,
As the title suggests, I have a question regarding the GPLing of the MAD source code.
I am currently working on an OpenDivX player for my iPAQ (to be able to watch movies on it) and am using MAD for the MP3 part (this is the only FP-free MP3 code I know about).
The problem is not on my code (I planned to release it on a BSD-like license anyway, so there is no problem of it being GPLized) but rather on the OpenDivX library. Is the (in)famous 'viral' quality also working for other libraries that my players links to ? Could the 'opendivx' libraries be considered as 'system' libraries and not falling into the GPL ?
Otherwise, I will need to add some sort of 'plug-in' infrastructure that would never be used except to load a MAD plug-in :-)
Lionel
Lionel Ulmer wrote:
I am currently working on an OpenDivX player for my iPAQ (to be able to watch movies on it) and am using MAD for the MP3 part (this is the only FP-free MP3 code I know about).
The problem is not on my code (I planned to release it on a BSD-like license anyway, so there is no problem of it being GPLized) but rather on the OpenDivX library. Is the (in)famous 'viral' quality also working for other libraries that my players links to ? Could the 'opendivx' libraries be considered as 'system' libraries and not falling into the GPL ?
If the opendivx libraries either accompany your distribution or are not normally distributed with the major components of the operating system on the iPAQ, then the GPL requirements apply to them when you combine them with code from MAD in your player (see GPL section 3).
Otherwise, I will need to add some sort of 'plug-in' infrastructure that would never be used except to load a MAD plug-in :-)
I'm not sure that dynamic loading avoids the issue. However, the devil is in the details, and sometimes an exception can be made. Feel free to contact me directly to review the details.
Cheers, -rob
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Lionel Ulmer -
Rob Leslie