MAKER OF SHINY TOYS Apple has been accused of holding back source code it used in IOS 4.3 that was licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public Licence (LGPL).
Apple has in the past been quick to publish code it obtained from the BSD and LGPL licenses with every major release of Mac OS X or IOS. However since IOS 4.3 Apple has held onto the source code for certain applications, leading developers to cry foul.
Since IOS 4.3, Apple has yet to release the source code for Webkit and its Javascript Core, software that powers Apple's Safari web browser. Apple released IOS 4.3 on 9 March, along with three subsequent updates, yet Apple's source code website still says that the Webkit source code is "coming soon".
Well known open source developer Harald Welte called on Apple to shape up and release its source code sooner rather than later. Writing on his blog, Welte said, "I think it is time that Apple gets their act together and becomes more straight-forward with LGPL compliance. It is not acceptable to delay the source code release for 8 weeks after shipping a LGPL licensed software. Especially not, if you have already demonstrated in the past that you are well aware of the obligations and have a process and a website to release the corresponding source code under the license conditions."
Welte's request for Apple to release its source code is not just to maintain LGPL compliance but also to help developers work with Apple's latest revisions.
Given the vast amount of code that Apple has already released under its own licence, as well as under the LGPL and the BSD licences, it is surprising that the cappuccino company is withholding the source code for certain software. It will be interesting to see if Jobs' Mob listens to the software development community.
Apple has in the past been quick to publish code it obtained from the BSD and LGPL licenses with every major release of Mac OS X or IOS. However since IOS 4.3 Apple has held onto the source code for certain applications, leading developers to cry foul.
Since IOS 4.3, Apple has yet to release the source code for Webkit and its Javascript Core, software that powers Apple's Safari web browser. Apple released IOS 4.3 on 9 March, along with three subsequent updates, yet Apple's source code website still says that the Webkit source code is "coming soon".
Well known open source developer Harald Welte called on Apple to shape up and release its source code sooner rather than later. Writing on his blog, Welte said, "I think it is time that Apple gets their act together and becomes more straight-forward with LGPL compliance. It is not acceptable to delay the source code release for 8 weeks after shipping a LGPL licensed software. Especially not, if you have already demonstrated in the past that you are well aware of the obligations and have a process and a website to release the corresponding source code under the license conditions."
Welte's request for Apple to release its source code is not just to maintain LGPL compliance but also to help developers work with Apple's latest revisions.
Given the vast amount of code that Apple has already released under its own licence, as well as under the LGPL and the BSD licences, it is surprising that the cappuccino company is withholding the source code for certain software. It will be interesting to see if Jobs' Mob listens to the software development community.
No comments:
Post a Comment