Sun's use of GPL and/or debian source

[Rick Moen]

begin Alan DuBoff quotation:

[An attempt to paraphrase?]
 
> "However, in many cases you can distribute the GPL-covered software alongside
> your proprietary system. To do this validly, you must make sure that the free
> and non-free programs communicate at arms length, that they are not combined
> in a way that would make them effectively a single program."

GPL v. 2, clause #2 concludes:

   In addition, mere aggregation of another work not based on the
   Program with the Program (or with a work based on the Program) on a
   volume of a storage or distribution medium does not bring the other work
   under the scope of this License.

Please see:  http://www.fsf.org/licenses/gpl.html

> Since some of the tools do in fact replace SYSVR4 equivilants with
> lesser function, there is some grey area to me.

Seriously, your paraphrase does not correspond to anything in GPL v. 2.

> No, I *suspect* that they are within compliance, because I believe Sun
> had their legal weenies go over the GPL to figure out how they could
> legally use the code on Solaris.

To the best of my understanding, it's absolutely, very, very legal.
(IANAL.  This is not legal advice.)

-- 
Cheers,      "Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first 
Rick Moen     woman she meets, and then teams up with three complete strangers
rick@linuxmafia.com       to kill again."  -- Rick Polito's That TV Guy column,
              describing the movie _The Wizard of Oz_