Hi, On Wed, 2025-04-16 at 17:12 +0000, Bill Allombert wrote: > Le Wed, Apr 16, 2025 at 08:39:18AM +0200, Ansgar π a Γ©crit : > > > Debian has always allowed GPL-2-only code linked against GPL-3+-only > > libraries such as the libstdc++ or GCC runtime libraries. (You ignore > > that libraries aside of OpenSSL exist.) > > Note that libstdc++ and GCC runtime libraries are covered by the > GCC Runtime Library Exception which is different from the system > library exception.
How is that relevant? Note that (a) the runtime exception doesn't allow you to distribute the source for libstdc++ under GPL-2-compatible terms which would be required by the GPL-2-licensed software if one claims the system library exception does not apply. Otherwise: assume the runtime exception does so for all licenses, then it would trivially allow to distribute the libstdc++ source under proprietary licenses and one could just use a permissive license from the start instead of GPL-3+-with-limited-extra-permissions. (b) The OpenSSL license has a runtime library exception "built in" as it doesn't require libraries linking it to be distributed under similar terms as OpenSSL to begin with. So if it was relevant, the OpenSSL problem would be solved too. (And proprietary operating system vendors could just grant themselves an exception too if they wanted to distributed GPL-2 programs as part of the operating system.) Ansgar
