Sun's use of GPL and/or debian source

[Rick Moen]

begin Alan DuBoff quotation:

> The piece I was curious about, that I can't remember exactly is how
> the GUI is isolated from the GPL and/or APSL code? 

Compare to:  MetroX, AcceleratedX.

> According to the GPL it must be seperated....

This is not an accurate characterisation of the GPL's terms.  You 
may need to study its language.

> In Apple's case that would mean that they have to seperate the GUI
> (which includes Quartz and Aqua since both are proprietary) from the
> base OS (Darwin) and/or GPL tools (gcc, emacs, make, etc...).

It is unclear what your term "separated" means, in this context.
However, you can, if you wish, figure it out empirically if you 
attend this Sunday's BayLISA annual picnic w/Linux and BSD InstallFest,
in Saratoga.  See:  http://www.baylisa.org/events/#spec (w/ maps and 
directions) or the corresponding entry on http://linuxmafia.com/bale/

That would work because I'll be bringing my kit of InstallFest CD-ROMs,
including Apple Darwin x86 v. 1.3.1.  That is a 100% open-source / free
software (iff you accept APSL as such) BSD distribution.  As packaged
on the CD-ROM, it's roughly equivalent to NetBSD, except it does not 
include X11 packages (which are available from XFree86, separately) or
any equivalent such as Apple's Quartz/Aqua code.

One can of course also acquire PPC binary versions of the same CD-ROM.
For illustration's sake, imagine you were to install that onto an Apple
Macintosh G4.  Then, imagine you were to be handed a binary CD-ROM of
Apple's proprietary Quartz/Aqua graphical-interface code.  You install 
that.  It's a set of binaries and libs that execute atop the open-sourced
BSD foundation, same as pretty much anything else in userspace.  Then, 
you acquire the MacOS binary of Microsoft Internet Explorer, Apple
QuickTime, and a few other proprietary AV pieces.  You install those;
they likewise run in userspace.

You have just reconstructed MacOS X from its constituent pieces.  Any
questions?

> It's a great system, and the GUI is very nice. I only wish that Apple
> would have been so generous as to have made the GUI GPL so everyone
> could enjoy the use of it, not only Mac OSX users. 

Unless and until they do, feel free to write one.

> In Apple's case I 'spose it doesn't really matter since Darwin is
> kinda GPL (APSL)....

It is erroneous to say Darwin is APSL.  Darwin has many pieces under 
a wide variety of open-source / free-software licenses.  The mix is very
similar to that of NetBSD.

> ...so the GUI must be completely seperated from Darwin and/or GPL
> tools.

Again:  MetroX, AcceleratedX.  Understand those works' compliance with
the various licences within typical Linux and *BSD distributions, and
you will automatically understand the MacOS X / Darwin situation.

-- 
Cheers,                    Long ago, there lived a creature with a 
Rick Moen                  voice like a vacuum cleaner.  We know little
rick@linuxmafia.com        about it, but we do know that it ate cats.