Questions tagged [source-code]

Source Code is a human-readable collection of instructions in a programming language used to produce a computer program.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
-4 votes
1 answer
39 views

License for JavaScript which doesn't permit minification?

I'm writing a JavaScript library and am wondering how I could license it such that developers/user: must include the license (or a link to it) can't minify the source code, but must include it as-is ...
1 vote
2 answers
63 views

copyrights when learning from licensed code and then applying that knowledge to write your own code

When learning from different sources, some of which license their code, is re-applying those techniques and/or knowledge in my own projects considered copyright infringement
5 votes
1 answer
116 views

Is it a GPL violation to provide source code in a format that can only be opened or "compiled" with non-free software?

Looking through the GPL FAQ, there is the question of if you can use the GPL license for non-software products, as long as it is clear what constitutes the source code. Of course, that does not mean ...
8 votes
2 answers
2k views

Does modified server code, used in public website development, which is originally available under GPL2 have to be released to the public?

To be precise, I am referring to MySql source code which is available under GPL2. I want to make certain modifications in the code which is actually for some custom requirement. The modified MySql ...
1 vote
1 answer
106 views

As author of AGPL / GPL project, do I need to keep previous versions, or only current one?

As author of AGPL / GPL project, do I need to keep previous versions, or only current one? For example I made and published 50 versions of the project (via git). Can I delete previous modifications ...
3 votes
2 answers
94 views

Is data part of corresponding source for GPL 3?

The GPL3 defines correspond source as the following: The “Corresponding Source” for a work in object code form means all the source code needed to generate, install, and (for an executable work) run ...
5 votes
1 answer
179 views

Are Source-code-based Open Educational Resources and CC-Licenses Incompatible?

For my post, I assume that for software developers or authors of educational texts, an important part of choosing the proper license for their work is attribution: as the original author, I would want ...
2 votes
1 answer
105 views

API source code has a dependency with BSD license

I have an API that I use for commercial purposes. I find out today that I have dependencies with licence types: BSD (3-Clause), BSD, Apache, and MIT. I am confused as the BSD (3-Clause) license states ...
-4 votes
1 answer
196 views

Structuring C libraries [closed]

In the past years, I wrote much C source code, parts of which might also be useful to others. So I would like to restructure this code in a way such that it makes sense to publish it on Github and ...
-1 votes
1 answer
153 views

MIT License technicalities and compatibility with Apache 2.0

I'm working on a FOSS project and would very much prefer to release it under MIT license. To consider, it is a C program, using a MIT licensed library, a MIT licensed executable packaged in the files, ...
7 votes
2 answers
2k views

Can I use source code licensed under CC-BY-SA for commercial closed source project?

I want to use some source code under CC-BY-SA for my company's project. That project is commercial and closed source code. I want our project not to have obligation to release the source code. Is this ...
1 vote
2 answers
139 views

Is the PDF output of LaTeX code licensed under GPLv3 also covered?

I have seen the similar question here Does "the GPL doesn't cover the ouput of a program" also apply if...... However, I think the use of LaTex to write a book with code examples that were ...
15 votes
2 answers
2k views

Does "the GPL doesn't cover the output of a program" also apply if the output is source code?

As it is well known (see for example this question or this one), the GPL licenses do not cover the output of a GPL-licensed program. So, I could for example generate some pictures with a GPL-licensed ...
1 vote
0 answers
297 views

Why exactly is NirSoft's software not open source? [closed]

Apologies if this type of question isn't allowed here, but I am quite curious about this. If you don't know, NirSoft is some sort of dev that has created a lot of software for use on Windows primarily....
3 votes
1 answer
238 views

Consequences of html files being under GPL license

This is about consequences of html files being under GPL license (v2 or v3). I am aware that it is not recommended to apply the GPL license to documentation. However, a typical use case is that a blog ...
14 votes
6 answers
427 views

Software licensing - Pre 1970's

From reference, page 4, The official ubuntu book, Eighth edition, As computer’s became cheaper and more numerous in the late 1970’s, producer’s of software began to see value in the software itself....
-3 votes
1 answer
131 views

coding rules in the linux kernel

A rumor states that some person perhaps named Arpan Mukherjee has contributed some coding rules inside Linux kernel. If you did met that person, please tell (e.g. by email to basile@starynkevitch.net) ...
2 votes
1 answer
207 views

Can I sell an Electron application that use a library under Eclipse Public License 1.0 without disclosing the source code of the entire app?

I want to sell an Electron desktop application that uses a JS library under the Eclipse Public License 1.0 license. One of the conditions is to "disclose source". It's not totally clear to ...
0 votes
1 answer
328 views

How to give attribution to media that is used in game

I downloaded a audio clip licensed under Attribution 3.0 (it literally just said "license: Attribution 3.0"). I am using this in a JavaScript game. Where should the attribution go? Can I do ...
5 votes
1 answer
685 views

In the .NET AssemblyInfo.cs, where to put the license info?

In .NET, assemblies have their AssemblyInfo.cs file where one can put general descriptive info about the assembly. But, where to explicitly put an (open source) license? I will have a copyright, which ...
5 votes
2 answers
111 views

I accidentally left a crude, personally-insulting debug print line in a public pull request

It was left there for four hours before I discovered it. Obviously, I fixed that with a force push. What else can I (or should I) do?
1 vote
0 answers
73 views

Can I distribute a LGPLv2.1 derivative work whose source code doesn't compile?

Section 4 of the LGPLv2.1 gives me permission to distribute a "work based on the Library" in object code form, provided that I also distribute "complete corresponding machine-readable ...
3 votes
2 answers
714 views

Source request for a GPL-licensed Linux kernel module?

We have a CrowdStrike kernel module installed, and this is apparently the license: description: CrowdStrike Pinned Security Module author: CrowdStrike, Inc. license: GPL retpoline: ...
4 votes
1 answer
814 views

If I use a mobile app that fetches data from a website under GPLv2+ is the app also under GPL?

I am currently programming a mobile app that is not under the GPL. However, the mobile app correspond with a website that is under GPL Version 2 or higher. In my case the mobiel app send request via ...
7 votes
1 answer
4k views

Can I sell UNMODIFIED Open source software without providing the actual source code?

Since everyone can sell open source software, modified or unmodified, at any price, under GPL and MPL as long as I know, can I do it without providing the source code since the recipients are just &...
3 votes
1 answer
75 views

Do you have to be mark the changes when modifying code under MIT, Apache2.0 or BSD?

I'm currently programming a Flutter mobile app and a website. I use code from the MIT license on the website and the app. In the app I also use code under the Apache 2.0 license and the BSD 3 clause. ...
4 votes
1 answer
595 views

google_font license (Apache2.0) has no Copyright what to do?

I'm currently programming an app with flutter and have already listed all the licenses I use from the packages on an individual license page in the Settings. I also used the google_font package. ...
5 votes
2 answers
452 views

How to reuse code in GitHub without passing other code as mine?

I'm doing my first real project on Github (in Python) and I'm using functions from two other repos (which I'll call foo and bar) as well as rewriting some of their modules. I have two options. Option ...
0 votes
1 answer
335 views

What counts as derivative work in GPL-3.0?

So there's this app which is licensed under GPL-3.0 and there is a piece of code in that application that I like to use. My app is not by any way a copy/modification of the this app. Since the two ...
-1 votes
1 answer
47 views

The official node.js deb package repository has no source packages, is it a license breach?

Recently I tried to download the official node.js source debian packages, as described here. For my largest surprise, their source repositories are simply empty (although they are part of their ...
4 votes
2 answers
110 views

Call GPL functionality from non-GPL interpreted code

I have code written in R, an interpreted language. The R interpreter and most R libraries are under the GPL. What are the limits upon my code, if I want to distribute it while keeping it proprietary ...
3 votes
2 answers
142 views

How prohibitive is this Intel copyright clause in Microsoft Windows SDK sources?

We have an open source project going on Github and so far, have been able to comply with all licensing terms and conditions of libraries used, to the best of our knowledge. Today when debugging, I ...
2 votes
1 answer
165 views

Explicit linkage of GCC STL source code in end user's code - GPLv3 + GCC runtime exception

My question is related to GPLv3 and GCC runtime exception. I need to include GCC source code in my project. I am an author of an embedded library that is intended to be built using GCC C++ compiler ...
1 vote
1 answer
462 views

What counts as disclosing source for software licenses?

MPL v2, GPL v3 and other licenses alike require giving users access to source code. Having read both licenses, I did not come across specific examples of how to disclose source code, so my question is ...
3 votes
1 answer
196 views

Choosing a license in Arduino environment

I wrote a C++ library for Arduino. The source code have the following specificities: it includes headers, uses functions, macros, and structures/classes (and their methods) from LGPL libraries (...
1 vote
0 answers
56 views

does anyone know the location of Oracle's 3 different berkeley db source code repositories? [closed]

The Oracle corporation states that their 3 Berkeley DB family products Berkeley DB, Berkeley DB Java Edition and Berkeley DB XML are each offered under the OSS Affero General Public License. I have to ...
12 votes
4 answers
4k views

Is a software open source if its source code is published by its copyright owner but cannot be used without a commercial license? [duplicate]

Suppose I wrote a commercial program, and I publish its complete source code on my website. I retain all rights to the source code. No one gets any distribution or usage rights. They only have the ...
-3 votes
1 answer
86 views

Is the entire beta/release candidate process of open source projects mostly just "for show"?

This risks offending some. I don't mean to. I'm seriously wondering about this. And it's not at all specifically about PHP; it's just that this is such a major, critical software project which is ...
7 votes
3 answers
619 views

Does reading code and re-implementing the logic, and releasing under your name count as a licensing violation of MIT?

I'm not clear on what counts as a "copy" in the case of code. If I read your code, that was MIT licensed, implement a similar logic on my own and use no code fragments from the original author, does ...
2 votes
1 answer
364 views

Transpiled Source-Code License & Copyright Holder

Can Transpiled Output Source-Code Have Different License And Different Copyright Holder Than Input Source-Code ? Prj-A──>─┬─>Prj-TP──>────┬─>Prj-┐ (Apache) │(Python-to-C++)│ TP │ ...
16 votes
2 answers
1k views

What license can I use for source code in an (e)book, that does not restrict binary distribution?

I'm writing an eBook (perhaps to be published physically one day) on the topic of programming. As such, it contains many coding samples. I want to expressly allow readers to copy the source code of ...
4 votes
1 answer
779 views

Is Google's Chrome web browser truly open source?

I have been trying to understand if Google's Chrome web browser is truly open source. Some people claim that it is, while others claim that it integrates binary blobs for which the source is ...
5 votes
1 answer
3k views

GPL - Is it required to post source code to the Public - when is a software released?

The GPL FAQ "Does the GPL require that source code of modified versions be posted to the public?" contains this statement (emphasis by me): The GPL does not require you to release your ...
4 votes
1 answer
165 views

Are there examples of the free software which are available to run and copy as gratis but source code is being sold?

Think of the software which is being distributed in following way: Available to download gratis and giving the freedom to run the software for any purpose as you wish, the freedom to redistribute ...
2 votes
1 answer
69 views

NAS vendor modified rsync with own options; can I ask for the source code?

My NAS has an app which includes a modified version of rsync version 3.1.3 with additional options: --XXXX-mode=mode 0:Normal, 1:XXXXXX, 2:USB copy 3:HD copy USB --check-dest ...
2 votes
1 answer
97 views

Do I need to include the licence for part of a program, which I have modified?

The X window manager dwm is designed to be customised by copying its default configuration config.def.h (which is supplied, along with the program's source code, under the MIT/X consortium licence) ...
2 votes
2 answers
2k views

License of code generated by a code generator

I am wondering under what license the code generated by a code generator that generates code from conditional code templates would fall under. Would it be possible to release the generator's source ...
2 votes
1 answer
80 views

Dependencies installed via package managers

Is there any difference to provide for instance a npm package.json or to provide all the packages source code in the source code repository of the software project? What's the impact if the project ...
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 ...
2 votes
1 answer
488 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 ...