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Bug 452914 - sci-visualization/xgraph: unclear license
Summary: sci-visualization/xgraph: unclear license
Status: RESOLVED FIXED
Alias: None
Product: Gentoo Linux
Classification: Unclassified
Component: New packages (show other bugs)
Hardware: All Linux
: Normal normal (vote)
Assignee: Gentoo Science Related Packages
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords: QAcanfix
Depends on:
Blocks: as-is-license
  Show dependency tree
 
Reported: 2013-01-19 09:16 UTC by Ulrich Müller
Modified: 2014-02-12 20:13 UTC (History)
1 user (show)

See Also:
Package list:
Runtime testing required: ---


Attachments
xgraph license from original tarball (xgraph,1.95 KB, text/plain)
2013-01-19 09:16 UTC, Ulrich Müller
Details

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Description Ulrich Müller gentoo-dev 2013-01-19 09:16:00 UTC
Created attachment 336098 [details]
xgraph license from original tarball

xgraph-12.1.tar.gz contains attached license, which states that additions made by Paul Walker are non-free ("for education, academic research and non-commercial purposes", "provided [...] that no charge is made for such copies").

Now the Debian changeset patches copyright.h and removes everything but the first two paragraphs from the license, i.e. the parts concerning the Paul Walker extensions. However, I don't see that the corresponding code would be removed. Especially, derivative.c is still there, which says: "This entire routine written by PW." Same for the animation code.

Not sure how we should proceed here. Maybe we should ask Debian to clarify this? Their changelog is silent about the license issue.
Comment 1 Ulrich Müller gentoo-dev 2013-01-20 14:53:49 UTC
I've sent an e-mail message to bap@debian.org asking about the change in copyright.h.
Comment 2 Ulrich Müller gentoo-dev 2013-02-05 13:46:52 UTC
(In reply to comment #1)
> I've sent an e-mail message to bap@debian.org asking about the change in
> copyright.h.

No answer so far.
Comment 4 Ulrich Müller gentoo-dev 2014-01-25 18:20:26 UTC
It seems that the Debian folks are unable or unwilling to clarify the issue. Therefore I believe that the unpatched license from the original tarball (attachment 336098 [details]) is the most reliable information we have, and I'll add it as new "xgraph" license file. Of course, it won't qualify as a free software license.

Possible alternatives:
- Revert to xgraph-11.3.2_p20000910 which is available here:
  ftp://ftp.cs.utoronto.ca/pub/radford/xgraph-11.tar.Z
  (Not sure if it would really be a revert, because the files in the tarball
  have newer date stamps than the ones in xgraph-12.1.tar.gz.)
  This version is also distributed by FreeBSD and they provide some patches:
  http://svnweb.freebsd.org/ports/head/math/xgraph/
- Drop the package altogether. There is no upstream activity since 15 years.
  Also the net-analyzer/ns reverse dependency (which was the original reason
  for importing the package, see bug 28543 comment 6) is gone.

@sci team: Unless you report back that you prefer one of these alternatives, I'll change the package's license as outlined above, in a few days from now.
Comment 5 Justin Lecher (RETIRED) gentoo-dev 2014-01-25 18:43:38 UTC
I would drop it. Everything else including dead upstream is a potential reason for bugs in future.
Comment 6 Ulrich Müller gentoo-dev 2014-02-12 20:13:21 UTC
(In reply to Ulrich Müller from comment #4)
> Therefore I believe that the unpatched license from the original tarball
> (attachment 336098 [details]) is the most reliable information we have, and
> I'll add it as new "xgraph" license file. Of course, it won't qualify as a
> free software license.

Done.