Questions tagged [binaries]

A binary file is a computer file that is not a text file. In this context this means a program that instead of being source code is compiled for a specific architecture and cannot (easily) be read by a human.

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Can a GPL binary, that has no source code released, be reverse engineered, and that source be released? [duplicate]

can a GPL binary, that have no source code released, be reverse engineered and that source be released? Some devs get a project in GPL, implement new things, release the binary but do not release the ...
VeganEye's user avatar
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6 votes
2 answers
3k views

Are shell scripts considered binaries for licensing purposes?

There are a number of licenses that contain the term "binary distribution". For example, https://github.com/boostorg/beast/blob/develop/LICENSE_1_0.txt: A simple permissive license only ...
cppbest's user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
131 views

License where somebody can distribute modified binaries but if they do I can disassemble them and help myself to the changes

In my freetime I've started to develop this retrocomputing project. The nature of the community is such that as likely as not just going to pass around binaries and modify them as even attempt to ...
Joshua's user avatar
  • 316
2 votes
2 answers
111 views

CC BY-NC-SA "ShareAlike" (source vs binaries)

If I use and adapt a part from the source code of an open-source (Java) project Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA (3.0) into my project : I know the "ShareAlike" requirement means I'll have to ...
Arale's user avatar
  • 21
3 votes
1 answer
188 views

Distributing GPL binary which has no source and unresponsive author

I was found in a situation where some author published a binary which was widely used. Unfortunately he never shared the source despite marking the program as GPL (version not specified). Despite ...
kiler129's user avatar
  • 130
2 votes
1 answer
127 views

Sign and distribute unmodified GNU GPLv2, MIT and Apache2 Linux packages

Software component under a custom open-source license requires certain third-party GPLv2, Apache2, and MIT Linux packages: GPLv2 package is not part of the component but is usually used to integrate ...
Ilya Cherevkov's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
4k views

What does the binary blob in the linux kernel do?

The Linux kernel contains binary blob (link). Linux Foundation and Linux kernel developers issued a statement about that (link, notably the kernel developers statement was not signed by Torvalds). ...
robertspierre's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
426 views

Licensing binaries of open source project with Apache License 2.0

I am writing an open source project licensed under Apache License 2.0, I wonder how can I license the precompiled binaries with the same license
Gabryx86_64's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
859 views

Apache 2.0: What licensing-related steps do I have to make when using software via package manager?

I'm trying to develop an application which uses a 3rd party framework under Apache 2.0 License. Obviously, I would like to comply with the license and give attribution to the authors via LICENSE/...
mdx's user avatar
  • 141
5 votes
1 answer
1k views

Is there a free open source version of Android SDK available for use?

When I download Android SDK from https://developers.android.com, I am prompted to agree with Google's EULA. What should I use in order to avoid agreeing on these terms? I'm under impression that ...
andreoss's user avatar
  • 509
44 votes
2 answers
10k views

Is GitHub "releases" section safe from malicious code? To be specific, does the binary match the code in a restrictive way?

When a developer creates a binary from the code and puts it in the releases section, does it match the code in a restrictive way so there is no chance that malicious code is compiled into it? How does ...
laimison's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
311 views

Changing the binary/project name under BSD 3-clause license

Can I change the name of the BSD 3-clause project and its binary name? To be specific, I have forked EACopy with a BSD 3-clause license. Its project name and binary name are the same, EACopy. I ...
Richard Green's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
806 views

Clarification on using FFmpeg in an open source app

Can someone please clarify the legality of bundling and using the full version of FFmpeg (with included libx264 and libx265 and other gpl codecs) in an open source app. I don't want to modify ...
AlekseyHoffman's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
1k views

Open source software: How do I know whether it uses the actual code? [duplicate]

Because of the current debate about tracking and privacy regarding the new Corona apps, I'd like to know in general, if an app or software really uses solely the code that it claims to be build on if ...
robsch's user avatar
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4 votes
2 answers
239 views

Can I have the source code of my Python/C++ project under MIT/BSD/Apache2.0 and its PyPI binary wheel under GPLv2?

I am trying to find how to license my open source project, but after having spent a few hours Googling around, my head started to hurt! Instead of asking a million of questions about different ...
AstrOne's user avatar
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8 votes
1 answer
3k views

MIT-licensed app without the source code

There is one very cool app on GitHub, under the MIT license. However, for some reason, the author has not published the source code, only binaries. Is it allowed under the MIT license to provide ...
john c. j.'s user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
1k views

Does distributing GPL software along with binary image force the binary image to be GPL too?

So: A hardware device has closed-source firmware running inside it (not based on any open-source code). Computer software to update the hardware's firmware exists, with a GPLv3 license. It takes a ...
endolith's user avatar
  • 161
4 votes
1 answer
748 views

Use of GPL licensed driver in commercial project

In a commercial project for our customer, I would like to install a driver on all target machines. The driver is on sourceforge (http://com0com.sourceforge.net/). The website states that: The Null-...
helb's user avatar
  • 143
3 votes
1 answer
375 views

Can I bundle a GPL-2 binary (Pandoc) with my GPL-3 app?

I’ve made a GPL-3 licensed app, the source code and binary releases of which are available on GitHub. Can I bundle the Pandoc and Pandoc-citeproc binaries with my app? These binaries are GPL-2 ...
lowercasename's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
322 views

Copyright notice in deployed smart contracts

This sounds like a corner case for including copyright notices when distributing copies of a software under MIT and other permissive licenses. In fact, deploying a smart contract on the blockchain ...
Davide C's user avatar
  • 129
2 votes
1 answer
379 views

Licensing a closed-source game to allow redistribution in an otherwise open-source project

tl;dr, how can I bundle a gratis but closed-source game in an otherwise BSD 2 clause licensed free software project? I develop a free software project which is licensed under the BSD 2 clause license....
Chris Billington's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
272 views

What does it mean for a closed source project to have a permissive licence (CC BY-NC)?

Earlier today I was installing a small free program hosted on GitHub. The End-User License Agreement shown when installing had a few things, but what stood out was: [...] is licensed under a Creative ...
AnnanFay's user avatar
  • 141
1 vote
1 answer
332 views

How does Linux with pre-installed binaries comply with binary redistribution license clause?

If I download Linux that comes with a pre-installed program in a binary form licensed under, let's say, BSD 2-clause, how does it comply with the following: Redistributions in binary form must ...
chingis's user avatar
  • 113
8 votes
1 answer
5k views

BSD 3-Clause: where to place license for binary installation?

We want to publish a project that does use some components under BSD-3-Clause license according to below: Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of ...
Top-Master's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
1k views

Is it possible to be open source but restrict distribution of compiled binaries?

I've started to consider how I want to license a project of mine, and I want people to be able to read, modify and distribute the source code. However, I also want to be able to monitise the project, ...
chraffx's user avatar
  • 53
-1 votes
2 answers
205 views

What happens to Cloud providers, if I download a GPL Binaries from cloud storage service?

1) For example, if I upload a GPL binary to google drive and then provide a link for everyone. Does it mean that GOOGLE should now provide the sources for the binary if anyone requests them? 2) What ...
Tzahi's user avatar
  • 21
7 votes
3 answers
284 views

Can a quine be distributed as binary only and be open source?

If the author of a program that outputs its own source code (quine) makes it open source, can others just distribute it as binaries? Does it matter which popular open source license he used, say GPL ...
alices_and_bobs's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
588 views

Using dynamically linked library with BSD 3-clause License

If we are loading a closed source - dll dynamically in the source code which comes under three clause BSD license then is it mandatory to change license of my closed source dll to three clause BSD ...
Bhushit Anjaria's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
445 views

Do licenses actually apply to the source code or product itself?

I'm new to licensing and want to clarify something. Do licenses (such as Apache, MIT, GNU General Public etc.) apply to the source code or the (compiled) program? I thought it applied to the source ...
inertiablobby's user avatar
9 votes
1 answer
2k views

Shipping GPL'd binaries in commercial product

I've read lots of discussion on shipping commercial products that link against GPLv2/3 libraries, and products that include code from GPLv2/3 software. But I haven't been able to satisfactorily answer ...
tdenniston's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
476 views

Distribute SWF (binary) files with open source license?

Is it possible to distribute binary files using any open source or Creative Commons license? In particular, I have several Flash videos (.swf files) whose sources (.fla files) are not available/lost. ...
Barun's user avatar
  • 113
17 votes
1 answer
2k views

Is there any way to assert that a source code correspond to a compiled code?

When using a program that was compiled from open source code by a 3rd party and not by yourself directly, how is it possible to check that the binary program is well built against an exact source code ...
Nicolas Massart's user avatar
22 votes
2 answers
2k views

How does GPL affect binary-only modifications?

GPL is a copyleft license where, if I make modifications to the source code and distribute the resulting binary, I need to provide the modified source code also under the GPL. What happens if I make ...
congusbongus's user avatar
  • 8,859
11 votes
3 answers
731 views

Should my project provide precompiled binaries?

Inspired by Source code or binaries? How important is this? Many of the larger, more widely used, FLOSS projects provide both source distributions and ready-to-install binary images. This seems ...
kdopen's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
3k views

Source code or binaries? How important is this? [closed]

Most open source projects provide precompiled binaries for a variety of platforms in addition to the source code. How important is it to download the source code and compile it yourself? Are there ...
trichoplax is on Codidact now's user avatar