lkml.org 
[lkml]   [1996]   [Apr]   [23]   [last100]   RSS Feed
Views: [wrap][no wrap]   [headers]  [forward] 
 
Messages in this thread
/
Date
From
SubjectRe: Must modules be GPL'ed?
On Mon, 22 Apr 1996, Janne Peltonen wrote:

> I just read the GPL but I am still unsure whether loadable kernel
> modules qualify as work derived from the kernel (FAQ, I know..).

IMHO modules _must_ be GPL'ed. The main points I see are:

1. The inlined kernel functions _are_ part of the kernel code.
( as you already pointed out )

2. The modules in fact don't get _loaded_ but _linked_ into the kernel.
Insmod is just a tiny linker, which in principal mimics ld.

>
> It appears that modules are frequently thought to be independent
> entities that are using kernel services through a well defined
> interface.

No, the are not independent, because they got _linked_ (see 2.),
they are part of the kernel.

> In that respect, modules are much similar to user mode
> programs; they just happen to reside on the other side of a protection
> boundary.

Not at all. Modules are _pure kernel code_, they live in kernel space,
they run in kernel space, they have direct access to the kernel resources
without need of syscall interface (as would have user processes).

Hans
<lermen@elserv.ffm.fgan.de>



\
 
 \ /
  Last update: 2005-03-22 13:37    [W:0.028 / U:0.204 seconds]
©2003-2020 Jasper Spaans|hosted at Digital Ocean and TransIP|Read the blog|Advertise on this site