Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2001 11:52:23 -0800 (PST) From: John Baldwin <jhb@FreeBSD.org> To: Brett Glass <brett@lariat.org> Cc: chat@FreeBSD.ORG, Craig Harding <crh@outpost.co.nz>, Terry Lambert <tlambert2@mindspring.com> Subject: Re: GPL nonsense: time to stop Message-ID: <XFMail.011218115223.jhb@FreeBSD.org> In-Reply-To: <4.3.2.7.2.20011218124204.02812700@localhost>
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On 18-Dec-01 Brett Glass wrote: > At 12:27 PM 12/18/2001, Terry Lambert wrote: > >>No, it's not. It's not in the boot path, and it's not in the >>required for installation path. > > That's only one very restrictive definition of "in the kernel." > While it is true that the code is not loaded unless needed, this > is true of many integral parts of operating systems. > > The GPLed code is compiled every time you compile the kernel and > is dynamically linked to it. (As you know, the FSF considers > dynamic linking to make two pieces of code a single unit.) The code > is referred to in the kernel's internal tables as a part that can be > loaded at will. The the kernel is fully aware that it can bring in > the code in response to certain conditions just like any other driver > or module. In short, the GPLed code is integrated. It is part of the > kernel. Actually, no, the kernel doesn't know about loading the math emulator. Not to mention that we have two of them. Instead, the loader can have code that detects if a FPU is present or not and arranges to load one of the two available math emulators (which one depends on what the user chooses). When the kernel starts, it "discovers" any other modules that were loaded with it and links them in. It's just a generic interface for dynamically linking modules into the kernel, and this just happens to be one such module that can be optionally linked into the kernel. > --Brett -- John Baldwin <jhb@FreeBSD.org> <>< http://www.FreeBSD.org/~jhb/ "Power Users Use the Power to Serve!" - http://www.FreeBSD.org/ To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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