🚀 go-pugleaf

Hello all,

 A little while ago, I posted a question about a program called
Chess wich is distributed as a demo with all NeXT computers. It is
a "front end" to gnuchess, and I complained that I had been told
by someone at NeXT that they did not distibute the source code,
since they had not modified the gnu code.

I wrote:
> Now, I'm no legal expert, but it seems to me from reding the
>license, that if you're going to include gnuchess in your code,
>(since this program obviously has gnuchess compiled into it, regardless
>of wether or not there have been any changes to it), then you *have*
>to make your source code available.

> Is this a wrong impression? Should I insist that NeXT *has* to make
>its source for this program available?

The consensus from the replies was that if Chess just
ran gnuchess as a seperate process and comunicates with
it through a pipe, then it is not under the gnuchess licence,
and NeXT has every right not to make it available. However, if
gnuchess *is* compiled into, then as one person put it, I've
"got them".

From what I can see when I run Chess, it does have gnuchess
compiled *into* it. "Chess" is the process that uses all the
CPU when you run the program, and no "gnuchess" process is anywhere
in sight. This would imply that it is covered by the license. As
mfriedel@monolith.davinci.com (Michael Friedel) wrote:

>That question is debateable. After all its is not only a front end, they
>compiled the source into it.  So by the licence agreement they have to
>distribute the source. 

And to confirm this, nash@menu.visus.com (Richard V. Nash) wrote to me
telling me that apparently I had been misinformed:

>I wanted to change NeXT's chess program so I could set up positions and
>use it for analysis. I talked to NeXT about this earlier this year
>and this is the answer I got...

>>Yes, the entire program is available on our GNU release disk.
>>
>>The GNU release disk should be available in July.
>>You can order it now by calling (800) 848-NeXT and asking for order
>>management
>>Order part #N5514, the NeXT GNU source.  (I believe that it is
>>available for
>>the cost of media.)

>Unfortunately I can not afford the cost of an Optical Disk just to get
>GNU chess.

>I dropped my search for GNU chess at this point. It may be that NeXT's
>chess is is posted to one of the archives, I don't know.

>If you do end up getting a hold of it, I'd like to get a copy also.

I have since then also learned that a bunch of people have
chipped in to buy one copy of the NeXT GNU source, and will
post it to an archive as soon as they receive it (wich may still
take a while given the less than great enthusiasm NeXT has shown
in releasing its code).

Finally I would like to thank the many people who responded:
mfriedel@monolith.davinci.com (Michael Friedel)
cessu@tahma.cs.hut.fia (Kenneth S A Oksanen)
kjartan@daimi.aau.dk (Kjartan Stefansson)
ove@rigel.astro.uiuc.edu (Roger Ove)
amanda@iesd.auc.dk (Per Abrahamsen)
nash@menu.visus.com (Richard V. Nash)
vaughan%cadillac.cad.mcc.com@mcc.com (Paul Vaughan)
psm@sics.se (Peter Magnusson)

(Apologies if I forgot anyone.)

Again, thanks for your response.

___________________________________________________________________
Pascal Gaudette               gaudette@physun.physics.mcmaster.ca
MacNUG president                      | NO NeXTmail [yet] please  
graduate student, McMaster university | I am not infallible.
Physics and astronomy dep.            | These are just my opinions.