We call this license the "Lesser" General Public License because it does Less to protect the user's freedom than the ordinary General Public License. It also provides other free software developers Less of an 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 in certain special circumstances.
For example, on rare occasions, there may be a special need to encourage the widest possible use of a certain library, so that it becomes a
In other cases,permission to use a particular library in
Although the Lesser General Public License is Less protective of the users' freedom, it does 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 modifi ed version of the Library.
The precise terms and conditions for copying, distribution and modifi cation 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 use some 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 modifi cations and/or translated straightforwardly into another language. (Hereinafter, translation is included without limitation in the term "modifi cation".)
"Source code" for a work means the preferred form of the work for making modifi cations to it.
For a library, complete source code means all the source code for all modules it contains, plus any associated interface defi nition fi les, plus the scripts used to control compilation and installation of the library.
Activities other than copying, distribution and modifi cation are not covered by this License ; they are outside its scope. The act of running a program using the Library is not restricted, and output from such a program is covered only if its contents constitute a work based on the Library (independent of the use of the Library in a tool for writing it).