[GRASS5] Re: license issues

Bernhard Reiter bernhard at uwm.edu
Thu Nov 25 22:12:18 EST 1999


On Thu, Nov 25, 1999 at 08:18:52PM -0600, Bernhard Reiter wrote:
> On Thu, Nov 25, 1999 at 02:13:12AM -0800, Russell Senior wrote:
> > >>>>> "Bernhard" == Bernhard Reiter <bernhard at alpha1.csd.uwm.edu> writes:

> > Bernhard> AFAIK the GPL allows linking with other truely free software
> > Bernhard> packages.
BTw: This discussion was unrelated and took place in gnu.misc.discuss.

> > BTW, had you noticed the problematic inclusion of the `Numerical
> > Recipes' code in the now-GPL'd GRASS v5.0b4?  Grep for `Cambridge
> > University Press' and take a look at the conditions.

> We will have to look into it than, I guess. We might have more licensing
> problems in the code. 

Here is, what my grep found:

grass5.0beta 58: find . -exec grep 'Cambridge University Press' /dev/null {} \;
./man/man1/i.fft:Cambridge University Press, 1988.
./man/man1/i.ifft:Cambridge University Press, 1988.
./src/imagery/i.cca/cmd/jacobi.c:   (Cambridge University Press, 1988).  Copyright (C) 1986, 1988 by
./src/imagery/i.cca/cmd/jacobi.c:   (Cambridge University Press, 1988).  Copyright (C) 1986, 1988 by
./src/imagery/i.fft/cmd/fft.c:   (Cambridge University Press, 1988).  Copyright (C) 1986, 1988 by
./src/imagery/i.pca/cmd/eigen.c:   (Cambridge University Press, 1988).  Copyright (C) 1986, 1988 by
./src/imagery/i.zc/cmd/fft.c:   (Cambridge University Press, 1988).  Copyright (C) 1986, 1988 by
./src.contrib/CERL/imagery/i.shape/fft.c:   (Cambridge University Press, 1988).  Copyright (C) 1986, 1988 by
./src.contrib/CERL/sites/s.surf.krig/NR.c:published by Cambridge University Press, and are used by permission."


It reads like:

/* Based on "Numerical Recipies in C; The Art of Scientific Computing"
   (Cambridge University Press, 1988).  Copyright (C) 1986, 1988 by
   Numerical Recipes Software.  Permission is granted for unlimited
   use within GRASS only.  */

and comes down to three relatively small functions:

"egvorder" (eigsrt) function
"fft" (fourn) function
"jacobi" function

./src.contrib/CERL/sites/s.surf.krig/NR.c contains more explaination
and different functions. 

ludcmp routine - finds inverse of matrix A
lubksb routine - multiplies inverse of matrix A (from lucmp) by matrix b
                    and returns matrix x (weights) in "b".    


I recommend removing these commands from the grass-beta source code
until some rewrites these basic functions or the copyright situtation
is clarified. I think the algorithms can be
found in any good algebra book. Somebody just have to do it.

Where the algorithms are adapted, I don't know if the copyright
actually still applies.

	Bernhard
-- 
Research Assistant, Geog Dept UM-Milwaukee, USA.  (www.uwm.edu/~bernhard)
Free Software Projects and Consulting 		         (intevation.net)  
Association for a Free Informational Infrastructure            (ffii.org)
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