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Thread: No Knoppix kernel headers and source (GPL Violation?)

  1. #1
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    No Knoppix kernel headers and source (GPL Violation?)

    Here is a reprint from my posting to comp.os.linux.misc made yesterday. I am looking for comments.

    I have a question that I realize could start a flame war, but I
    proceed in caution regardless. This posting is MEANT as an
    observation and an opportunity for improvement on what is (for my
    purposes) the best linux distribution out there - KNOPPIX.

    I won't go into all the features of this distro, just go to google or
    www.knoppix.net and you'll get all the information you need and some
    darn good community support as well.

    I have one significant issue with the Knoppix distro, and that is
    their failure to include the kernel headers and source for their
    distribution. This makes it very difficult (for me) to do development
    work on this as some items (openh323 telephony modules for example)
    require the kernel headers and source in order to compile.

    Not being faint of heart, I made an attempt to compile my own by
    obtaining the kernel source from kernel.org, obtaining the necessary
    kernel patches, and scouring suggestions from the Knoppix forum, but
    have had no success following any one "recipe". Additionally (and
    very important to me for change control purposes) it seems that doing
    it this way (homebrewing my own kernel source 2.4.20-xfs ) leaves the
    end product open to individual mistakes in a production environment.
    An official release of kernel headers and source seems like a
    necessary baseline.

    Most significantly, it seems that the GPL requires a distributor to
    provide this sort of source code if they are to distribute Linux. The
    portion of the GPL I am referring to immediately follows this post.

    Let me close by saying I DO NOT feel like this is an entitlement due
    me or anyone else in the Linux community. Klaus and team have done an
    exceptional job on this distro, which is getting better over time.
    They have and continue to be outstanding contributors to Linux
    adaptation and development. However, I DO feel that this is a
    significant technical drawback restricting development on this
    distribution, and for good reason is required by the GPL.

    Your constructive comments regarding the reasonableness of making an
    official REQUEST (please note the choice of word) to the Knoppix
    organization are most welcome.

    Thanks in advance,

    Paul

    ***begin GPL TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING, DISTRIBUTION AND
    MODIFICATION****

    3. You may copy and distribute the Program (or a work based on it,
    under Section 2) in object code or executable form under the terms of
    Sections 1 and 2 above provided that you also do one of the following:

    * a) Accompany it with the complete corresponding machine-readable
    source code, which must be distributed under the terms of Sections 1
    and 2 above on a medium customarily used for software interchange; or,

    * b) Accompany it with a written offer, valid for at least three
    years, to give any third party, for a charge no more than your cost of
    physically performing source distribution, a complete machine-readable
    copy of the corresponding source code, to be distributed under the
    terms of Sections 1 and 2 above on a medium customarily used for
    software interchange; or,

    * c) Accompany it with the information you received as to the
    offer to distribute corresponding source code. (This alternative is
    allowed only for noncommercial distribution and only if you received
    the program in object code or executable form with such an offer, in
    accord with Subsection b above.)

    The source code for a work means the preferred form of the work for
    making modifications to it. For an executable work, complete source
    code means all the source code for all modules it contains, plus any
    associated interface definition files, plus the scripts used to
    control compilation and installation of the executable. However, as a
    special exception, the source code distributed need not include
    anything that is normally distributed (in either source or binary
    form) with the major components (compiler, kernel, and so on) of the
    operating system on which the executable runs, unless that component
    itself accompanies the executable.

    If distribution of executable or object code is made by offering
    access to copy from a designated place, then offering equivalent
    access to copy the source code from the same place counts as
    distribution of the source code, even though third parties are not
    compelled to copy the source along with the object code.

    ***end GPL TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING, DISTRIBUTION AND
    MODIFICATION***

    original link @

    http://groups.google.com/groups?dq=&...oogle%2BSearch

  2. #2
    Senior Member registered user
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    Mar 2003
    Location
    Cleveland, OH
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    Knoppix Kernel Source and Headers Available

    Thanks to all who responded and in the spirit i had hoped for .

    Forum user Spamjin sent me the following useful information just before i received an email from none other than, drum roll please, Klaus Knopper hisself!

    Thanks all for helping me obtain these.

    All I needed was located at:

    http://www.knopper.net/download/knoppix/

    which appears to redirect to:

    http://developer.linuxtag.net

    After installing source and headers into /usr/src/linux, my telephony app compiled and i got a dialtone right away. Have been trying to get this app off a windows box since February so our shop can go totally GNU. Thanks all...

    ***email from Spamjin***

    Is this what you were looking for? See highlighted portion for links.


    http://knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html

    <snip>
    What license does the KNOPPIX-CD use?

    If not otherwise specified, the software on the CD falls under the GNU
    GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE. Similar to other Open Source licenses, this
    means that you can copy, modify, redistribute and even resell the CD
    without restrictions, as long as the recipient receives the same
    license. The source code of the standard packages on the CD are
    available from their respective original providers (for example on the
    \/ \/ \/ \/ \/
    FTP servers at Debian, RedHat, Mandrake). Special components such as
    the
    KNOPPIX kernel or the automatic hardware detection source code can be
    downloaded from http://www.knopper.net/download/knoppix/ if not already
    available in the /usr/src directory on the CD. Individual packages, as
    ^^^^^^
    specified by the GPL, may fall under another license (for example
    Netscape). If in doubt, the licenses can be found in the help sections
    or the DEB-database (dpkg -p package-name) of each software package.

    (Sorry, but I didn't know how to use the forum yet. Perhaps you can
    post
    a followup?)

  3. #3
    Senior Member registered user
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Posts
    205

    Re: No Knoppix kernel headers and source (GPL Violation?)

    Quote Originally Posted by pau1knopp
    Most significantly, it seems that the GPL requires a distributor to
    provide this sort of source code if they are to distribute Linux. The
    portion of the GPL I am referring to immediately follows this post.
    You should read more carefully the portion you just quoted, specifically section 3b:

    Quote Originally Posted by pau1knopp
    3. You may copy and distribute the Program (or a work based on it,
    under Section 2) in object code or executable form under the terms of
    Sections 1 and 2 above provided that you also do one of the following:

    * a) ...

    * b) Accompany it with a written offer, valid for at least three
    years, to give any third party, for a charge no more than your cost of
    physically performing source distribution, a complete machine-readable
    copy of the corresponding source code, to be distributed under the
    terms of Sections 1 and 2 above on a medium customarily used for
    software interchange; or,

    * c) ...

    The source code for a work means ...
    Please read that carefully. Klaus is doing just what that section 3b requires by including a note like this on every Knoppix release:

    you can order the sources directly from Knopper.Net for the cost of material, copying, packaging and postage. This offer is valid for 3 years, counting from the build date of this CD-Rom/DVD.
    So there is no GPL violation.

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