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17.2 GNU Lesser General Public License
Version 2.1, February 1999
Copyright (C) 1991, 1999 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA02110-1301USA
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 it too, but we suggest you first
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 of free software, we are referring to freedom of use, not price.Our
General Public Licenses are designed to make sure that you have the freedom to
distribute copies of free s oftware (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
do these things.
To protect your 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 responsibilities for you if you distribute copies of the library or if you
modify it.
For example, if you 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 to the recipients, so that they can relink
them with the library after making changes to the library and recompiling it.And you
must show them these terms so they know their rights.