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The Automated Test Harness is an open source project released under the Affero GPL 3.0 license.

What is a Covered Work?

Any code that requires the Harness classes to be present for compilation and for all execution means that the dependent code is statically linking to the AGPL Harness code. Static linking combines the two pieces of code into a larger covered work which is collectively subject to the AGPL.

The author of the GPL and AGPL licenses is the Free Software Foundation (FSF). The following details are excerpts of their guidance about the GPL and AGPL. The two are equivalent for all purposes except that the AGPL triggers the distribution reciprocity requirement when the combined work is accessed over the network by people outside of the organization. Any references to GPL below can be read as AGPL.

Linking creates a combined work.:

Linking a GPL covered work statically or dynamically with other modules is making a combined work based on the GPL covered work. Thus, the terms and conditions of the GNU General Public License cover the whole combination.

Adding a module to a AGPL program requires the module to be licensed using the AGPL

If I add a module to a GPL-covered program, do I have to use the GPL as the license for my module?

The GPL says that the whole combined program has to be released under the GPL. So your module has to be available for use under the GPL.

Any software that uses an AGPL library requires the linked code to be licensed using the AGPL.

If a library is released under the GPL (not the LGPL), does that mean that any software which uses it has to be under the GPL or a GPL-compatible license?

Yes, because the software as it is actually run includes the library.

You have a GPL'ed program that I'd like to link with my code to build a proprietary program. Does the fact that I link with your program mean I have to GPL my program?

Not exactly. It means you must release your program under a license compatible with the GPL (more precisely, compatible with one or more GPL versions accepted by all the rest of the code in the combination that you link). The combination itself is then available under those GPL versions.

What is the difference between an 'aggregate' and other kinds of 'modified versions'?

An “aggregate” consists of a number of separate programs, distributed together on the same CD-ROM or other media. The GPL permits you to create and distribute an aggregate, even when the licenses of the other software are non-free or GPL-incompatible. The only condition is that you cannot release the aggregate under a license that prohibits users from exercising rights that each program's individual license would grant them.

Where's the line between two separate programs, and one program with two parts? This is a legal question, which ultimately judges will decide. We believe that a proper criterion depends both on the mechanism of communication (exec, pipes, rpc, function calls within a shared address space, etc.) and the semantics of the communication (what kinds of information are interchanged).

If the modules are included in the same executable file, they are definitely combined in one program. If modules are designed to run linked together in a shared address space, that almost surely means combining them into one program.

By contrast, pipes, sockets and command-line arguments are communication mechanisms normally used between two separate programs. So when they are used for communication, the modules normally are separate programs. But if the semantics of the communication are intimate enough, exchanging complex internal data structures, that too could be a basis to consider the two parts as combined into a larger program.

The following clarifications in regard to the Lesser GPL (LGPL) and Java are instructive:

It has always been the FSF's position that dynamically linking applications to libraries creates a single work derived from both the library code and the application code. The GPL requires that all derivative works be licensed as a whole under the terms of the GPL, an effect which can be described as “hereditary.” So, if an application links to a library licensed under the GPL, the application too must be licensed under the GPL.

The typical arrangement for Java is that each library an application uses is distributed as a separate JAR (Java Archive) file. Applications use Java's “import” functionality to access classes from these libraries. When the application is compiled, function signatures are checked against the library, creating a link. The application is then generally a derivative work of the library.

Inheritance creates derivative works in the same way as traditional linking

I'd like to incorporate GPL-covered software in my proprietary system. I have no permission to use that software except what the GPL gives me. Can I do this?

You cannot incorporate GPL-covered software in a proprietary system. The goal of the GPL is to grant everyone the freedom to copy, redistribute, understand, and modify a program. If you could incorporate GPL-covered software into a non-free system, it would have the effect of making the GPL-covered software non-free too.

A system incorporating a GPL-covered program is an extended version of that program. The GPL says that any extended version of the program must be released under the GPL if it is released at all. This is for two reasons: to make sure that users who get the software get the freedom they should have, and to encourage people to give back improvements that they make.

I'd like to incorporate GPL-covered software in my proprietary system. Can I do this by putting a 'wrapper' module, under a GPL-compatible lax permissive license (such as the X11 license) in between the GPL-covered part and the proprietary part?

No. The X11 license is compatible with the GPL, so you can add a module to the GPL-covered program and put it under the X11 license. But if you were to incorporate them both in a larger program, that whole would include the GPL-covered part, so it would have to be licensed as a whole under the GNU GPL.

The fact that proprietary module A communicates with GPL-covered module C only through X11-licensed module B is legally irrelevant; what matters is the fact that module C is included in the whole.

In an object-oriented language such as Java, if I use a class that is GPL'ed without modifying, and subclass it, in what way does the GPL affect the larger program?

Subclassing is creating a derivative work. Therefore, the terms of the GPL affect the whole program where you create a subclass of a GPL'ed class.

Harness License Notice

Each source file in the Harness project must contain the following license notice:

/*
** This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
** it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as
** published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the
** License, or (at your option) any later version.
**
** This program 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 Affero General Public License for more details.
**
** You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
** along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
*/

AGPL 3.0 Full License Text

© 2004-2018 Golden Code Development Corporation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

fsf_agplv3_logo_155x51.png (3.47 KB) Greg Shah, 08/28/2018 04:53 PM