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In other cases, permission to use a particular library in non-free programs enables a
greater number of people to use a large body of free software. For example,
permission to use the GNU C Library in non-free programs enables many more people
to use the whole GNU operating system, as well as its variant, the GNU/Linux
operating system.
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 modified version of the
Library.
The precise terms and conditions for copying, distribution and modification 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.
GNU LESSER GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE 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 modifications
and/or translated straightforwardly into another language. (Hereinafter,
translation is included without limitation in the term "modification".)
"Source code" for a work means the preferred form of the work for making
modifications to it. For a library, complete source code means all the source
code for all modules it contains, plus any associated interface definition files,
plus the scripts used to control compilation and installation of the library.
Activities other than copying, distribution and modification 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). Whether that is true depends on what the Library
does and what the program that uses the Library does.
Notices
173
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