resources.stdlicenses.LGPL-2.1-or-later.html Maven / Gradle / Ivy
GNU Lesser General Public License v2.1 or later | Software Package Data Exchange (SPDX)
GNU Lesser General Public License v2.1 or later
Full name
GNU Lesser General Public License v2.1 or later
Short identifier
LGPL-2.1-or-later
Other web pages for this license
Notes
This license was released: February 1999.
Text
GNU LESSER GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
Version 2.1, February 1999
Copyright (C) 1991, 1999 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA
Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies
of this license document, but changing it is not allowed.
[This is the first released version of the Lesser GPL.
It also counts as the successor of the GNU Library
Public License, version 2, hence the version number 2.1.]
Preamble
The licenses for most software are designed to take away your
freedom to share and change it. By contrast, the GNU General Public
Licenses are intended to guarantee your freedom to share and change
free software--to make sure the software is free for all its users.
This license, the Lesser General Public License, applies to some
specially designated software packages--typically libraries--of the
Free Software Foundation and other authors who decide to use it. You
can use it too, but we suggest you first think carefully about whether
this license or the ordinary General Public License is the better
strategy to use in any particular case, based on the explanations below.
When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom of use, not
price. Our General Public Licenses are designed to make sure that you
have the freedom to distribute copies of free software (and charge for
this service if you wish); that you receive source code or can get it if
you want it; that you can change the software and use pieces of it in new
free programs; and that you are informed that you can do these things.
To protect your rights, we need to make restrictions that forbid
distributors to deny you these rights or to ask you to surrender
these rights. These restrictions translate to certain responsibilities
for you if you distribute copies of the library or if you modify it.
For example, if you distribute copies of the library, whether gratis
or for a fee, you must give the recipients all the rights that we
gave you. You must make sure that they, too, receive or can get the
source code. If you link other code with the library, you must provide
complete object files to the recipients, so that they can relink them
with the library after making changes to the library and recompiling
it. And you must show them these terms so they know their rights.
We protect your rights with a two-step method: (1) we copyright
the library, and (2) we offer you this license, which gives you
legal permission to copy, distribute and/or modify the library.
To protect each distributor, we want to make it very clear that there
is no warranty for the free library. Also, if the library is modified
by someone else and passed on, the recipients should know that what they
have is not the original version, so that the original author's reputation
will not be affected by problems that might be introduced by others.
Finally, software patents pose a constant threat to the existence
of any free program. We wish to make sure that a company cannot
effectively restrict the users of a free program by obtaining a
restrictive license from a patent holder. Therefore, we insist that
any patent license obtained for a version of the library must be
consistent with the full freedom of use specified in this license.
Most GNU software, including some libraries, is covered by
the ordinary GNU General Public License. This license, the GNU
Lesser General Public License, applies to certain designated
libraries, and is quite different from the ordinary General
Public License. We use this license for certain libraries in
order to permit linking those libraries into non-free programs.
When a program is linked with a library, whether statically or using
a shared library, the combination of the two is legally speaking a
combined work, a derivative of the original library. The ordinary
General Public License therefore permits such linking only if the entire
combination fits its criteria of freedom. The Lesser General Public
License permits more lax criteria for linking other code with the library.
We call this license the "Lesser" General Public License
because it does Less to protect the user's freedom than the
ordinary General Public License. It also provides other free
software developers Less of an advantage over competing non-free
programs. These disadvantages are the reason we use the ordinary
General Public License for many libraries. However, the Lesser
license provides advantages in certain special circumstances.
For example, on rare occasions, there may be a special need to
encourage the widest possible use of a certain library, so that
it becomes a de-facto standard. To achieve this, non-free programs
must be allowed to use the library. A more frequent case is that a
free library does the same job as widely used non-free libraries.
In this case, there is little to gain by limiting the free library
to free software only, so we use the Lesser General Public License.
In other cases, permission to use a particular library in non-free
programs enables a greater number of people to use a large body of free
software. For example, permission to use the GNU C Library in non-free
programs enables many more people to use the whole GNU operating
system, as well as its variant, the GNU/Linux operating system.
Although the Lesser General Public License is Less protective of
the users' freedom, it does ensure that the user of a program that
is linked with the Library has the freedom and the wherewithal
to run that program using a modified version of the Library.
The precise terms and conditions for copying, distribution and
modification follow. Pay close attention to the difference between
a "work based on the library" and a "work that uses the library".
The former contains code derived from the library, whereas
the latter must be combined with the library in order to run.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING, DISTRIBUTION AND MODIFICATION
-
0.
This License Agreement applies to any software library or
other program which contains a notice placed by the copyright
holder or other authorized party saying it may be distributed
under the terms of this Lesser General Public License (also
called "this License"). Each licensee is addressed as "you".
A "library" means a collection of software functions and/or data
prepared so as to be conveniently linked with application programs
(which use some of those functions and data) to form executables.
The "Library", below, refers to any such software library or work
which has been distributed under these terms. A "work based on
the Library" means either the Library or any derivative work under
copyright law: that is to say, a work containing the Library or a
portion of it, either verbatim or with modifications and/or translated
straightforwardly into another language. (Hereinafter, translation
is included without limitation in the term "modification".)
"Source code" for a work means the preferred form of the work
for making modifications to it. For a library, complete source
code means all the source code for all modules it contains,
plus any associated interface definition files, plus the scripts
used to control compilation and installation of the library.
Activities other than copying, distribution and modification are
not covered by this License; they are outside its scope. The act of
running a program using the Library is not restricted, and output
from such a program is covered only if its contents constitute a
work based on the Library (independent of the use of the Library
in a tool for writing it). Whether that is true depends on what
the Library does and what the program that uses the Library does.
-
1.
You may copy and distribute verbatim copies of the Library's complete
source code as you receive it, in any medium, provided that you
conspicuously and appropriately publish on each copy an appropriate
copyright notice and disclaimer of warranty; keep intact all the
notices that refer to this License and to the absence of any warranty;
and distribute a copy of this License along with the Library.
You may charge a fee for the physical act of
transferring a copy, and you may at your option
offer warranty protection in exchange for a fee.
-
2.
You may modify your copy or copies of the Library or any portion
of it, thus forming a work based on the Library, and copy and
distribute such modifications or work under the terms of Section
1 above, provided that you also meet all of these conditions:
-
a)
The modified work must itself be a software library.
-
b)
You must cause the files modified to carry prominent notices
stating that you changed the files and the date of any change.
-
c)
You must cause the whole of the work to be licensed at no
charge to all third parties under the terms of this License.
-
d)
If a facility in the modified Library refers to a function
or a table of data to be supplied by an application program
that uses the facility, other than as an argument passed
when the facility is invoked, then you must make a good faith
effort to ensure that, in the event an application does not
supply such function or table, the facility still operates,
and performs whatever part of its purpose remains meaningful.
(For example, a function in a library to compute square roots
has a purpose that is entirely well-defined independent of
the application. Therefore, Subsection 2d requires that any
application-supplied function or table used by this function
must be optional: if the application does not supply it,
the square root function must still compute square roots.)
These requirements apply to the modified work as a whole. If
identifiable sections of that work are not derived from the
Library, and can be reasonably considered independent and separate
works in themselves, then this License, and its terms, do not
apply to those sections when you distribute them as separate
works. But when you distribute the same sections as part of a
whole which is a work based on the Library, the distribution
of the whole must be on the terms of this License, whose
permissions for other licensees extend to the entire whole,
and thus to each and every part regardless of who wrote it.
Thus, it is not the intent of this section to claim rights or
contest your rights to work written entirely by you; rather,
the intent is to exercise the right to control the distribution
of derivative or collective works based on the Library.
In addition, mere aggregation of another work not based on
the Library with the Library (or with a work based on the
Library) on a volume of a storage or distribution medium does
not bring the other work under the scope of this License.
-
3.
You may opt to apply the terms of the ordinary GNU General
Public License instead of this License to a given copy of the
Library. To do this, you must alter all the notices that refer
to this License, so that they refer to the ordinary GNU General
Public License, version 2, instead of to this License. (If a
newer version than version 2 of the ordinary GNU General Public
License has appeared, then you can specify that version instead
if you wish.) Do not make any other change in these notices.
Once this change is made in a given copy, it is irreversible for
that copy, so the ordinary GNU General Public License applies to
all subsequent copies and derivative works made from that copy.
This option is useful when you wish to copy part of the
code of the Library into a program that is not a library.
-
4.
You may copy and distribute the Library (or a portion or derivative
of it, under Section 2) in object code or executable form under
the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above provided that you accompany
it with the complete corresponding machine-readable source code,
which must be distributed under the terms of Sections 1 and 2
above on a medium customarily used for software interchange.
If distribution of object code is made by offering access to copy
from a designated place, then offering equivalent access to copy
the source code from the same place satisfies the requirement
to distribute the source code, even though third parties are
not compelled to copy the source along with the object code.
-
5.
A program that contains no derivative of any portion of the
Library, but is designed to work with the Library by being compiled
or linked with it, is called a "work that uses the Library".
Such a work, in isolation, is not a derivative work of the
Library, and therefore falls outside the scope of this License.
However, linking a "work that uses the Library" with the Library
creates an executable that is a derivative of the Library (because
it contains portions of the Library), rather than a "work that uses
the library". The executable is therefore covered by this License.
Section 6 states terms for distribution of such executables.
When a "work that uses the Library" uses material from a header
file that is part of the Library, the object code for the work may
be a derivative work of the Library even though the source code is
not. Whether this is true is especially significant if the work can
be linked without the Library, or if the work is itself a library.
The threshold for this to be true is not precisely defined by law.
If such an object file uses only numerical parameters, data
structure layouts and accessors, and small macros and small inline
functions (ten lines or less in length), then the use of the
object file is unrestricted, regardless of whether it is legally
a derivative work. (Executables containing this object code
plus portions of the Library will still fall under Section 6.)
Otherwise, if the work is a derivative of the Library, you may
distribute the object code for the work under the terms of Section
6. Any executables containing that work also fall under Section 6,
whether or not they are linked directly with the Library itself.
-
6.
As an exception to the Sections above, you may also combine or
link a "work that uses the Library" with the Library to produce
a work containing portions of the Library, and distribute
that work under terms of your choice, provided that the terms
permit modification of the work for the customer's own use
and reverse engineering for debugging such modifications.
You must give prominent notice with each copy of the work
that the Library is used in it and that the Library and its
use are covered by this License. You must supply a copy of
this License. If the work during execution displays copyright
notices, you must include the copyright notice for the Library
among them, as well as a reference directing the user to the
copy of this License. Also, you must do one of these things:
-
a)
Accompany the work with the complete corresponding machine-readable
source code for the Library including whatever changes were used in
the work (which must be distributed under Sections 1 and 2 above);
and, if the work is an executable linked with the Library, with the
complete machine-readable "work that uses the Library", as object
code and/or source code, so that the user can modify the Library
and then relink to produce a modified executable containing the
modified Library. (It is understood that the user who changes the
contents of definitions files in the Library will not necessarily be
able to recompile the application to use the modified definitions.)
-
b)
Use a suitable shared library mechanism for linking with the
Library. A suitable mechanism is one that (1) uses at run time a
copy of the library already present on the user's computer system,
rather than copying library functions into the executable, and
(2) will operate properly with a modified version of the library,
if the user installs one, as long as the modified version is
interface-compatible with the version that the work was made with.
-
c)
Accompany the work with a written offer, valid for at
least three years, to give the same user the materials
specified in Subsection 6a, above, for a charge no
more than the cost of performing this distribution.
-
d)
If distribution of the work is made by offering access to
copy from a designated place, offer equivalent access to
copy the above specified materials from the same place.
-
e)
Verify that the user has already received a copy of these
materials or that you have already sent this user a copy.
For an executable, the required form of the "work that uses
the Library" must include any data and utility programs needed
for reproducing the executable from it. However, as a special
exception, the materials to be distributed need not include
anything that is normally distributed (in either source or
binary form) with the major components (compiler, kernel,
and so on) of the operating system on which the executable
runs, unless that component itself accompanies the executable.
It may happen that this requirement contradicts the
license restrictions of other proprietary libraries that
do not normally accompany the operating system. Such
a contradiction means you cannot use both them and the
Library together in an executable that you distribute.
-
7.
You may place library facilities that are a work based on the
Library side-by-side in a single library together with other library
facilities not covered by this License, and distribute such a
combined library, provided that the separate distribution of the
work based on the Library and of the other library facilities is
otherwise permitted, and provided that you do these two things:
-
a)
Accompany the combined library with a copy of the same work based
on the Library, uncombined with any other library facilities.
This must be distributed under the terms of the Sections above.
-
b)
Give prominent notice with the combined library of the fact
that part of it is a work based on the Library, and explaining
where to find the accompanying uncombined form of the same work.
-
8.
You may not copy, modify, sublicense, link with, or distribute the
Library except as expressly provided under this License. Any attempt
otherwise to copy, modify, sublicense, link with, or distribute
the Library is void, and will automatically terminate your rights
under this License. However, parties who have received copies, or
rights, from you under this License will not have their licenses
terminated so long as such parties remain in full compliance.
-
9.
You are not required to accept this License, since you have
not signed it. However, nothing else grants you permission to
modify or distribute the Library or its derivative works. These
actions are prohibited by law if you do not accept this License.
Therefore, by modifying or distributing the Library (or any
work based on the Library), you indicate your acceptance of this
License to do so, and all its terms and conditions for copying,
distributing or modifying the Library or works based on it.
-
10.
Each time you redistribute the Library (or any work based on
the Library), the recipient automatically receives a license
from the original licensor to copy, distribute, link with or
modify the Library subject to these terms and conditions. You
may not impose any further restrictions on the recipients'
exercise of the rights granted herein. You are not responsible
for enforcing compliance by third parties with this License.
-
11.
If, as a consequence of a court judgment or allegation of patent
infringement or for any other reason (not limited to patent issues),
conditions are imposed on you (whether by court order, agreement
or otherwise) that contradict the conditions of this License,
they do not excuse you from the conditions of this License. If you
cannot distribute so as to satisfy simultaneously your obligations
under this License and any other pertinent obligations, then as a
consequence you may not distribute the Library at all. For example,
if a patent license would not permit royalty-free redistribution of
the Library by all those who receive copies directly or indirectly
through you, then the only way you could satisfy both it and this
License would be to refrain entirely from distribution of the Library.
If any portion of this section is held invalid or
unenforceable under any particular circumstance, the
balance of the section is intended to apply, and the section
as a whole is intended to apply in other circumstances.
It is not the purpose of this section to induce you to infringe
any patents or other property right claims or to contest
validity of any such claims; this section has the sole purpose
of protecting the integrity of the free software distribution
system which is implemented by public license practices. Many
people have made generous contributions to the wide range of
software distributed through that system in reliance on consistent
application of that system; it is up to the author/donor to
decide if he or she is willing to distribute software through
any other system and a licensee cannot impose that choice.
This section is intended to make thoroughly clear what is
believed to be a consequence of the rest of this License.
-
12.
If the distribution and/or use of the Library is restricted in
certain countries either by patents or by copyrighted interfaces,
the original copyright holder who places the Library under this
License may add an explicit geographical distribution limitation
excluding those countries, so that distribution is permitted only
in or among countries not thus excluded. In such case, this License
incorporates the limitation as if written in the body of this License.
-
13.
The Free Software Foundation may publish revised and/or new
versions of the Lesser General Public License from time to time.
Such new versions will be similar in spirit to the present version,
but may differ in detail to address new problems or concerns.
Each version is given a distinguishing version number. If
the Library specifies a version number of this License which
applies to it and "any later version", you have the option of
following the terms and conditions either of that version or of
any later version published by the Free Software Foundation. If
the Library does not specify a license version number, you may
choose any version ever published by the Free Software Foundation.
-
14.
If you wish to incorporate parts of the Library into other free programs
whose distribution conditions are incompatible with these, write to
the author to ask for permission. For software which is copyrighted by
the Free Software Foundation, write to the Free Software Foundation; we
sometimes make exceptions for this. Our decision will be guided by the
two goals of preserving the free status of all derivatives of our free
software and of promoting the sharing and reuse of software generally.
NO WARRANTY
-
15.
BECAUSE THE LIBRARY IS LICENSED FREE OF CHARGE, THERE IS NO WARRANTY
FOR THE LIBRARY, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT
WHEN OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER
PARTIES PROVIDE THE LIBRARY "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,
EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF
THE LIBRARY IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE LIBRARY PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU
ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION.
-
16.
IN NO EVENT UNLESS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW OR AGREED TO IN WRITING
WILL ANY COPYRIGHT HOLDER, OR ANY OTHER PARTY WHO MAY MODIFY AND/OR
REDISTRIBUTE THE LIBRARY AS PERMITTED ABOVE, BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR
DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE LIBRARY
(INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA OR DATA BEING RENDERED
INACCURATE OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY YOU OR THIRD PARTIES OR A FAILURE OF
THE LIBRARY TO OPERATE WITH ANY OTHER SOFTWARE), EVEN IF SUCH HOLDER
OR OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
END OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS
How to Apply These Terms to Your New Libraries
If you develop a new library, and you want it to be of the greatest
possible use to the public, we recommend making it free software
that everyone can redistribute and change. You can do so by
permitting redistribution under these terms (or, alternatively,
under the terms of the ordinary General Public License).
To apply these terms, attach the following notices to the
library. It is safest to attach them to the start of each
source file to most effectively convey the exclusion of
warranty; and each file should have at least the "copyright"
line and a pointer to where the full notice is found.
<one line to give the library's name
and an idea of what it does.>
Copyright (C)
<year>
<name of author>
This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty
of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
See the GNU Lesser General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License
along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA Also
add information on how to contact you by electronic and paper mail.
You should also get your employer (if you work as a programmer)
or your school, if any, to sign a "copyright disclaimer" for
the library, if necessary. Here is a sample; alter the names:
Yoyodyne, Inc., hereby disclaims all copyright interest in
the library `Frob' (a library for tweaking knobs) written
by James Random Hacker.
<signature of Ty Coon>,
1 April 1990
Ty Coon, President of Vice
That's all there is to it!
Standard License Header
Copyright (C)
year name of author
This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
License as published by the Free Software Foundation; version 2.1
or any later version.
This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty
of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
See the GNU Lesser General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License
along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA
