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GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL)
Version 21, Februae,j1999
Copyright (C) 1991, 1999Free Software Foundation, inc.59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA Everyone is permitted to copy and
distribute verbatim copies of this license document, bat changing it is not allowed.
[This fs the first released version of the Lesser GPL. It also counts as the successor of the GNU Library Public License, version 2, hence the version number
2.1]
Preamble
The licenses for most software are desfgned to take away your freedom to share and change it. By contrast, the GNU GeneralPublic Licenses are intended to
guarantee your freedom to share and change free software--to make sure the software is free for all its users
This license, the Lesser General PublicLicense, applies to some specially designated software packages--typically libraries--of tile Free Software Foundation and
other authors who decide to use ft You can use it too, but we suggest you first think carefully about whether this license or the ordinary General Public License fs
the better strategy to use in any particularcase, basedon the explanations below.
When we speak of free software,we are referring to freedom of use, not price. Our General Publfc Licenses are designed to make sure that you have the freedom
to distribute copies of free software (and charge for this service if you wish); that you receive source code or can get it if you want it: that you can change the
software and use piecesof it in new free programs; and that you are informed that you can do these things.
To protect your rights, we need to make restrictions that forbid distributors to deny you these rights or to ask you to surrender these rights.These restrictions
translate to certain responsibilities for you ff you distribute copies of the library or if you modify it.
Forexample, if you distributecopies of the library, whether gratis or for a fee, you must give the recipients all the rights that we gave you You must make sure that
they, too, receive or can get the source code If you link other code with the library,you must provide complete object files to the recipients, so that they can relink
them with the library after making changes to the library and recompiling it. And you must show them these terms so they know their rights.
We protect your rights with a two-step method: (1)we copyrightthe library, and (2) we offer you this license, which gives you legal permissfonto copy,distribute
and/or modify the library
To protect each distributor, we want to make ft very clear that there is no warranty for the free library Also, if the library is modified by someone else and passed
on, the recfpients should know that what they have is not the original version so that the original author's reputation will not be affected by problems that might be
introduced by others
Finallysoftware patents pose a constant threat to the existence of any free program We wish to make sure that a company cannot effectively restrict the users
of a free program by obtaininga restrictive license from a patent holder. Therefore, we insist that any patent Ifcenseobtained for a version of the library must be
consistent with the full freedom of use specified fn this license.
Most GNU software, including some libraries, is covered by the ordinary GNU General Public License. This license, the GNU Lesser General Public License,
applies to certain designated libraries, and is quite different from the ordinary General Public License We use this license for certain libraries in order to permit
linking those libraries into non-free programs.
When a programis linked with a library, whether statically or using a shared library the combinationof the two is legally speaking a combined work, a derivative of
the original library. The ordfnary General Public License therefore permits such linking only if theentire combination fits its criteria of freedom. The Lesser General
PublicLicense permits more lax criteria for linking other code with the library
We call this licensethe "Lesser" General Public License because it does Less to protect the user's freedom than the ordinary General Public License Italso
providesother free software developers Less of an advantage over competing non-freeprograms. These disadvantages are the reason we use the ordinary
GeneralPublic License for many libraries. However, the Lesser license provides advantages in certain special circumstances
For example, on rare occasions, there may be a special need to encourage the wfdest possfble use of acertain library, so that ft becomes a de-facto standard To
achieve this, non-free programs must be allowedto use the library. A more frequent case is that a free library does the samejob aswidely used non-free libraries
in this case, there fs littJeto gain by limfting the free Ifbraryto free software only, so we use the Lesser General Public License.
in other cases, permission to use a particular library fn 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 Librae,jin non-freeprograms enables many more people to use the whole GNU operating system, as well as its variant, the GNU/
Linuxoperating system.
Although the Lesser General Public License fs Less protective of the users' freedom, ft does ensure that the user of a program that is linked with the Library has
the freedom and the wherewithal to run that program usfnga modifiedversion 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 librae,]".The former contains code derived from the library whereas the latter must be combined with the Ifbrary in order to ran.
TERMSAND CONDITIONSFORCOPYING,DISTRIBUTIONANDMODIFICATION
O.This LicenseAgreement applies to any software library or other programwhich 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 convenientlylinked 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
Libraryor any derivative work under copyright law: that is to say, a work containing the Library ora portion of it, either verbatim or with modifications and/or
translated straightfo_,uardlyinto another language.(Hereinafter translation is includedwithout limitation in the term 'modification".)
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