Re: ReactOS GPL vs. proprietary drivers - NTFS Driver under Linux + WINE
Hello Jan, Comments are inline. --- Jan Kratochvil <rcpt-ros-kernel.AT.reactos.com(a)jankratochvil.net> wrote:
Hi,
As GPLed Linux-NTFS still has no NTFS r/w capability I completed the project for reliable r/w access in Wine way by using MS-Windows ntfs.sys driver.
Captive-NTFS http://www.jankratochvil.net/
I have forwarded this reply to wine-devel as they my find captive NTFS interesting
My project is GPL-2.0 and it incorporates ReactOS kernel sources currently also carrying GPL-2.0 license. There are rumours GPL may be problem for linking with proprietary code (ntfs.sys&ntoskrnl.exe). I interpret it as GPL only affects _distribution_ of the program while no proprietary code is distributed with my package. Proprietary code is only run-time linked by the end-user.
In a GPL-related discussion here two monts ago ReactOS developers were open for reusal of existing proprietary drivers for ReactOS as one of the significant feature of ReactOS. I would like an affirmation from the major ReactOS developers they are not going to try to sue me for releasing Captive NTFS.
I dont think you have to worry about any ReactOS developers filing suit. I would be more worried about one from Microsoft =). In fact I am very happy to see this. I would like to see the interface you have developed evolve in to a a full compatiblty layer addon for WINE so they can support other drivers. I must confess I have not had a chance to look at the code but if it works as you say then this is great news! If you dont distribute Captive NTFS with a Microsoft NTFS driver then you should not have a problem. You are correct the GPL seems to only cover distribution not use. Thanks Steven __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search http://shopping.yahoo.com
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Steven Edwards