[U-Boot] [swupdate] Re: SWUpdate - U-Boot environment library dependency

[Stefano Babic]

Hi Marek,

On 21/11/18 15:31, Marek Vasut wrote:
> On 11/21/2018 10:20 AM, Wolfgang Denk wrote:
>> Dear Stefano,
> 
> Hi,
> 
>> In message <96836cc1-e4bb-a2a2-05ac-056053b4c426 at denx.de> you wrote:
>>>
>>> I would like to see the library under LGPL instead of GPL2, too, and I
>>> raised this issue when I started SWUpdate, but I was not very active to
>>> promote this. Tom, Wolfgang, is there chances to switch license ?
>>
>> Relicensing requires permission from all who contributed to that
>> code.
>>
>> Consider mine as granted.
>>
>> But someone hat to invest the efforts to analyze the code so we
>> know who to ask, and then collect all the permissions...
>>
>>> A env library is very welcomed by many customers, because they could
>>> integrate it in their application if license allows it.
>>
>> Agreed.
> 
> Then again, U-Boot environment structure is trivial, crc, flags, data,
> there is no complexity involved. There is probably some complexity in
> the backing store access stuff (MTD, block devs, legacy stuff), but that
> should either use some MTD utils libs, basic block access primitives or
> be given a once-over and possibly be dropped.
> 
> I think prototyping a library from scratch that's LGPL would be a few
> days' work and the benefit would be tremendous all over.


I confess I had the same idea - why not ignore the code in tools/env
(they have also some drawbacks, see the locking mechanism in my previous
e-mail) and start with a new library from scratch ? Then LGPL is not an
issue anymore, it is a new development. And I already took this way for
"grubenv" (I had to, grubenv is not license compatible).

But something in my head is telling me that this is not else as a fork
of u-boot (ok, a partial fork, just tools/env). And if the U-Boot
community decides to follow other ways for the environment, the "forked"
project aka "new library" should follow. But yes, I guess it is easier,
and I agree with you this is just a few days work.

This can solve the issue with license - the other topic regarding
"default" (or "initialization") environment is not changed by an
external library.

Best regards,
Stefano Babic

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