On 16:53 Mon 07 Jul , Wolfgang Denk wrote:
In message m2bq1at04k.fsf@ohwell.denx.de you wrote:
The 'license' command includes the u-boot license (GPLv2) into the actual bootloader binary. The license text can be shown interactively at the u-boot commandline.
I second such an addition. Actually If I read the GPLv2 I see the following clause:
If the program is interactive, make it output a short notice like this when it starts in an interactive mode:
Gnomovision version 69, Copyright (C) year name of author Gnomovision comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY; for details type `show w'. This is free software, and you are welcome to redistribute it under certain conditions; type `show c' for details.The hypothetical commands `show w' and `show c' should show the appropriate parts of the General Public License. Of course, the commands you use may be called something other than `show w' and `show c'; they could even be mouse-clicks or menu items--whatever suits your program.
So maybe, we can (or should) introduce such a short "This program is GPL" message into standard U-Boot, i.e. non-customizable. If I read the terms above, this is already required.
I support this, but then we should *always* print this message, not only "when it starts in an interactive mode" (or some guys could try to get away by disabling interactive mode).
If wanted from a board maintainer, we can enable the license command discussed in this thread, also enabling the "for details type 'license'." part of the message.
In any case the message must be *short*, something like "U-Boot is licensed under GPLv2" or so.
Ack
And add a notice to not remove this by a vendor.
Best Regards, J.