Re: Help wanted on porting a wifi library from Linux to FreeBSD

On Sun, 20 Oct 2024 17:17:25 -0700
Cy Schubert <Cy.Schubert@cschubert.com> wrote:

> In message <20241021072213.d372a39793a9564030a31085@dec.sakura.ne.jp>, 
> Tomoaki
> AOKI writes:
> > On Sun, 20 Oct 2024 12:41:05 -0700
> > Cy Schubert <Cy.Schubert@cschubert.com> wrote:
> >
> > > In message <CA+AExUT4fM+p85Shzp1xFFOrabS_FDwWYSbUJjmka6+ROOJnLw@mail.gmail.
> > c
> > > om>
> > > , Artem Hevorhian writes:
> > > >
> > > > https://github.com/bmegli/wifi-scan
> > > >
> > > > Here it is. It uses nl80211.h header. I think we should do the same on
> > > > FreeBSD. Mentorship is required for me to work on it. Please help me with
> > > > this.
> > > 
> > > Porting GPL code to FreeBSD is not a good idea. A rewrite under a BSD 
> > > license would work though.
> >
> > Or requesting and acquiring for ALL authors of ALL needed files to be
> > BSD-compatiblly licensed (including dual or more licenced in conjunction
> > with GPL)?
> 
> Dual licensing is ok. but one of the licenses must be BSD as opposed to 
> BSD-compatibility.
> BSD is compatible with GPL but many users of FreeBSD are afraid that GPL in 
> FreeBSD will make it GPL and therefore useless for their purposes.
> 
> BSD-compatibility is not enough. It should also be BSD licensed.

It depends on from which side of view.
Let's limit "can we borrow any code without violating its license?"
here.

From the point of view from GPL'ed software, BSD license is
100% compatible.

OTOH, from the point of view from BSD licensed software, GPL is
incompatible (because BSD license does not force licensees to make
their modified/added codes to be GPL'ed).

And FreeBSD has, for example, CDDL'ed codes like OpenZFS in tree,
without any action to delete them, unlile GPL'ed ones.

This is, (my understanding is) because CDDL is considered as
BSD-compatible license. There are more, for example, MIT license and so
on.

So any of BSD-compatible license is/are included in multiple licenses
of the codes, FreeBSD can introduce it in tree.

This is my guess.

> -- 
> Cheers,
> Cy Schubert <Cy.Schubert@cschubert.com>
> FreeBSD UNIX:  <cy@FreeBSD.org>   Web:  https://FreeBSD.org
> NTP:           <cy@nwtime.org>    Web:  https://nwtime.org
> 
> 			e^(i*pi)+1=0


-- 
Tomoaki AOKI    <junchoon@dec.sakura.ne.jp>