On Thu, Dec 15, 2016 at 11:39:39AM +0100, Norman Feske wrote:
Hello Jookia,
Admittedly, I don't completely understand the question. Neither AGPLv3 nor our linking exception mention IPC. The use of IPC is unrelated to licensing.
Let me still try to comment on it: If a custom component uses Genode's IPC mechanism, it is naturally linked against Genode's base libraries and uses Genode's API headers (otherwise, it could not invoke the IPC in the first place). Consequently, when distributing the binary of such a component to a user or providing the component's functionality as a web service to a user, the AGPLv3 requires one to also provide the source code of Genode and the custom source code. Thanks to our exception clause, the latter does not need to be licensed under AGPLv3 (the custom code is not "infected" by the Genode's license). Any "approved" open-source license is fine.
I see. How does proprietary userspace code work then?
Could I help to dissolve the "sketchiness" you observed?
Many projects have used the idea of glue code as a way to link proprietary and free software together as a way 'around' the GPL, and this sounds a bit like the same thing. It's questionable if it works though.
Cheers Norman