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Diffstat (limited to 'docs/manual/using.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | docs/manual/using.txt | 103 |
1 files changed, 103 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/docs/manual/using.txt b/docs/manual/using.txt index a5dc9e1ae..42d406120 100644 --- a/docs/manual/using.txt +++ b/docs/manual/using.txt @@ -181,3 +181,106 @@ or +g+++ for building helper-binaries on your host, then do -------------------- $ make HOSTCXX=g++-4.3-HEAD HOSTCC=gcc-4.3-HEAD -------------------- + +Complying with opensource licenses +---------------------------------- +[[legal-info]] + +All of the end products of Buildroot (toolchain, root filesystem, kernel, +bootloaders) contain opensource software, released under various licenses. + +Using opensource software gives you the freedom to build rich embedded +systems choosing from a wide range of packages, but also gives some +obligations that you must know and honour. +Some licenses require you to publish the license text in the documentation of +your product. Other require you to redistribute the source code of the +software to those that receive your product. + +The exact requirements of each license is documented in each package, and it is +your (or your legal office's) responsibility to comply with these requirements. +To make this easier for you, Buildroot can collect for you some material you +will probably need. To produce this material, after you configured Buildroot +with +make menuconfig+, +make xconfig+ or +make gconfig+, run: + +-------------------- +make legal-info +-------------------- + +Buildroot will collect legally-relevant material in your output directory, +under the +legal-info/+ subdirectory. +There you will find: + +* A +README+ file, that summarizes the produced material and contains warnings + about material that Buildroot could not produce. +* +buildroot.config+: this is the Buildroot configuration file that is usually + produced with +make menuconfig+, and which is necessary to reproduce the + build. +* The source code for all packages; this is saved in the +sources/+ + subdirectory (except for proprietary packages, whose source code is not + saved); + patches applied to some packages by Buildroot are distributed with the + Buildroot sources and are not duplicated in the +sources/+ subdirectory. +* A manifest file listing the configured packages, their version, license and + related information. + Some of these information might be not defined in Buildroot; in this case + they are clearly marked as "unknown" or similar. +* A +licenses/+ subdirectory, which contains the license text of packages. + If the license file(s) are not defined in Buildroot, the file is not produced + and a warning in the +README+ indicates this. + +Please note that the aim of the +legal-info+ feature of Buildroot is to +produce all the material that is somehow relevant for legal compliance with the +package licenses. Buildroot does not try to produce the exact material that +you must somehow make public. It does surely produce some more material than is +needed for a strict legal compliance. For example, it produces the source code +for packages released under BSD-like licenses, that you might not want to +redistribute in source form. + +Moreover, due to technical limitations, Buildroot does not produce some +material that you will or may need, such as the toolchain source code and the +Buildroot source code itself. +When you run +make legal-info+, Buildroot produces warnings in the +README+ +file to inform you of relevant material that could not be saved. + +Here is a list of the licenses that are most widely used by packages in +Buildroot, with the name used in the manifest file: + +* +GPLv2+: + http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.html[ + GNU General Public License, version 2]; +* +GPLv2++: + http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.html[ + GNU General Public License, version 2] + or (at your option) any later version; +* +GPLv3+: + http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html[ + GNU General Public License, version 3]; +* +GPLv3++: + http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html[ + GNU General Public License, version 3] + or (at your option) any later version; +* +GPL+: + http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html[ + GNU General Public License] (any version); +* +LGPLv2.1+: + http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/lgpl-2.1.html[ + GNU Lesser General Public License, version 2.1]; +* +LGPLv2.1++: + http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/lgpl-2.1.html[ + GNU Lesser General Public License, version 2.1] + or (at your option) any later version; +* +LGPLv3+: + http://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl.html[ + GNU Lesser General Public License, version 3]; +* +LGPLv3++: + http://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl.html[ + GNU Lesser General Public License, version 3] + or (at your option) any later version; +* +LGPL+: + http://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl.html[ + GNU Lesser General Public License] (any version); +* +BSD-4c+: Original BSD 4-clause license; +* +BSD-3c+: BSD 3-clause license; +* +BSD-2c+: BSD 2-clause license; +* +PROPRIETARY+: marks a non-opensource package; + Buildroot does not save any licensing info or source code for these packages. |