[Zope] FSF about Zope and GPL'ed components

[Jerome ALET]

On Wed, Sep 20, 2000 at 01:05:04PM -0400, jpenny@universal-fasteners.com wrote:
> Joan uses Zope with Joe's component (Product in Zope parlance).
> She writes something that depends on Joe's product being present,

So her work must be GPLed too, because it's considered just like
she links with a GPLed library.

However, while all the software I program is under GPL, I just consider
Zope just as a proprietary (don't take me wrong on this) library:
The GPL allows developpers to link their own programs with proprietary
libraries (I suppose it's the case for example if you install the GNU compiler
environment but not glibc under a proprietary Unix, but I don't know if
this is technically possible).

That's why if I was to produce a GPL Zope product, I'd personnally choose
to consider the GPL this way:

Any Zope application or product effectively depending on my product
must be GPLed, but I don't want Zope to be GPLed because it really not depend
on my product.

While I'm convinced that the FSF is the Good Thing Here (tm), it seems to
me that they haven't understood how Zope works:

The FSF's answer seems wrong to me in this particular aspect because
it seems they want Zope to be GPLed too. So I ask why they don't
ask to Sun to licence their system libraries under the GPL, or even
JAVA, since its allowed to develop Java programs and licence them
under the GPL: Java depends on my GPLed software just like Zope depends
on my GPLed Zope product: in fact it doesn't depend on it at all !
I can't see no difference.

I'd be very pleased to be enlightened a bit.

bye,

Jerome Alet