A GPL linking exception modifies the GNU General Public License (GPL) in a way that enables software projects which provide library code to be "linked to" the programs that use them, without applying the full terms of the GPL to the using program. Linking is the technical process of connecting code in a library to the using code, to produce a single executable file. It is performed either at compile time or run-time in order to produce functional machine-readable code. The Free Software Foundation states that, without applying the linking exception, a program linked to GPL library code may only be distributed under a GPL-compatible license.[1] This has not been explicitly tested in court, but linking violations have resulted in settlement.[2] The license of the GNU Classpath project explicitly includes a statement to that effect.
Many free software libraries which are distributed under the GPL use an equivalent exception, although the wording of the exception varies. Notable projects include ERIKA Enterprise,[3] GNU Guile,[4] the run-time libraries of GNAT,[4] GNU Classpath[5] and the GCC Runtime Library Exception.[6]
Compiler runtime libraries also often use this license modification or an equivalent one, e.g. the libgcc library in the GNU Compiler Collection,[7] as well as all libraries of the Free Pascal project.
In 2007, Sun Microsystems released most of the source code to the class libraries for the Java SE and Java EE projects under version 2 of the GPL license plus the Classpath linking exception,[8] and used the same license as one possible license for their enterprise server GlassFish[9] and for their NetBeans Java IDE.[10]
Version 3 of the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL)[11] is likewise constructed as an exception to the GPL.[12]
^GPL FAQ - Linking With GPL
^"MySQL, NuSphere Settle GPL Contract Dispute". Retrieved 20 May 2021.
^"Erika Enterprise Open-Source RTOS". Linux Foundation.
^ abStallman, Richard. Various Licenses and Comments about Them Archived August 15, 2000, at the Wayback Machine. Free Software Foundation. Published on 2007-05-17. Retrieved on 2007-05-18.
^Classpath::License. Free Software Foundation. 2007-04-23. Retrieved on 2007-05-18.
GPLlinkingexception modifies the GNU General Public License (GPL) in a way that enables software projects which provide library code to be "linked to"...
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runtime exceptions. The GMGPL license is GNU GPL 2 with a linkingexception that permits software with licenses that are incompatible with the GPL to be...
the entire Java 3D source code is released under the GPL version 2 license with GPLlinkingexception. Since February 10, 2012, Java 3D uses JOGL 2.0 for...
2019-08-31. "389 Directory Server - Licensing". "389 Directory Server - GPLException License Text". "Mac OS X Server Software License Agreement". Retrieved...
Operating system Cross-platform Type Application server License GNU General Public License v2.0 + linkingexception Website uwsgi-docs.readthedocs.io...
Classpath is licensed under the GNU General Public License with a linkingexception. This is a free software license. All code is formally owned by the...
compatible with the GPL; thus software under the GPL, such as GNU software, could not use OpenSSL without making a GPLlinkingexception. The GnuTLS library...
definitions and expressions in lexical contexts, native support for structured exceptions, better support for the R6RS and R7RS Scheme standards and many optimizations...
offered under a dual license of the CDDL and the GPL version 2 licenses, with the GPLlinkingexception for GNU Classpath. Oracle has donated NetBeans Platform...
December 2011, Oracle began to open-source the JavaFX code under the GPL+linkingexception.[unreliable source?] In December 2012, new portions of the JavaFX...
is open sourcing most of the remaining components of the JDK, with the exception of a few encumbered components that we hope, with the community's help...
AUTOSAR OS, by Arctic Core (now part of Vector Informatik) License: Dual GPL/Commercial Firmware de la CIAA (former FreeOSEK), specifically Firmware v1...
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making it easier for non-ASF projects to use, improving compatibility with GPL-based software, allowing the license to be included by reference instead...
2016. 'Use a library' means […] linking […]. "The origins of Linux and the LGPL". FreeBSD Project. Remember that the GPL requires anything that statically...
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working on this the opensource way are SharpOS (licensing: GPLv3 + runtime exception, hosting: Sourceforge) and Cosmos (licensing: BSD style, hosting: CodePlex)...
announcement the project was made open source by Sun under the GPL with ClassPath Exception license and gained wide acceptance within the community. LWUIT...
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