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GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL)
Version 2.1, February 1999
Copyright (C) 1991, 1999 Free Software Foundation_ inc. 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 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 ittoo, but we suggest youfirst 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 offree software, we are referring to freedom of use, not price. Our General Public Licensee 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 dothese things.
To protectyour 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 responsibilifies for you if youdistribute copies of the library or ifyou modify it
For example, ifyou 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 tothe recipients, so that they can
relink them with the library after making changes to the libraryand 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 youthis license, which gives you legal permission to copy, distribute
and/or modify the library.
To protecteach distributor, we want to make itvery clear that there is no warranty for thefree library. Also, ifthe library is modified by someone else and passed
on, the recipients should know that what they have isnot the original version, so that the original author's reputation will not beaffected by problems that might
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Finally, software patents pose a constant threat to the existence of any free program. Wewish to make sure that a company cannot effectively restrict the users
of afree 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, includingsome libraries, is covered by the ordinary GNU General Public License. This license, the GNU Lesser General Public License,
applies to certain designated libraries, and isquite different from the ordinary General Public License. We use this license for certain libraries in order to permit
linking those libraries intonon-free programs
When a program islinked with a library,whether statically or using a shared library, the combination of the two is legally speaking a combined work, a derivative
of theoriginal library. The ordinary General Public License therefore permits such linking only ifthe 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 itdoes Less to protect the user's freedom than the ordinary General Public License. It also
provides otherfree software developers Less ofan 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 incertain special circumstances.
For example, onrare occasions, there may bea special need to encourage the widest possible use of acertain 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 afree library does the same job as widely used non-free
libraries Inthis case, there is little to gain by limiting the free library tofree 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 usethe 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 theusers' freedom, itdoes 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 usesome 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 inthe term "modification".)
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