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GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL)
Version 2.1, February 1999
Copyright (C) 1991, 1999 Free Software Foundation, Inc. 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-I307 USAEveryone is permitted to copy and
distribute verbatim copies of this license document, butchanging it is not allowed.
)This is thefirst released version d the Lesser GPL. It also counts as the successor d the GNU Ubrary Public License, version2, hence the version number
2.1.]
Preamble
The licenses for most softwareare designedto 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 isfree for all its users.
This license, the Lesser General Public License, applies to some specially designatedsoftware packages--typically libraries--of the Free Software Foundation and
other authors who decideto use it. Youcan use ittoo, but we suggest you first think carefullyabout whetherthis license orthe ordinary General PublicLicense is
the better strategy to use in any particular case, based on the explanations below.
When we speak of free software,we are referringto freedom of use, notprice. Our General PuNic Licenses are designed to make sure that you have the freedom
to distribute copiesof free software (and chargefor this service if you wish); that you receivesource code or can get it if you want it; that you can changethe
software and use pieces of it in new flee programs; and that you are informed that you can do these things.
To protect your rights, we need to make restrictionsthat forbid distributorsto deny you these rights or to ask you tosurrender these rights. These restrictions
translate to certain responsibilitiesfor you if you distribute copies ofthe library or if you modify it.
For example, if you distributecopies d the library, whether gratis orfor 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. Ifyou 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 changesto 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: (I) we copyrightthe library, and (2) we offer you this license,which gives you legal permission to copy,distribute
and/or modify the library.
To protect each distributor, we want to make itvery clear that there is no warranty for the free library.Also, if the library is modified by someone else and passed
on, the recipients should know that what they have is not the original version, so that the original author's reputation will not be affectedby problems that might be
introduced by others.
Finally,software patents pose a constant threat to the existenceof any free program. We wish to make surethat a company cannot effectivelyrestrict the users
d a free program byobtaining a restrictive license from a patent holder. Therefore,we insist that any patent license obtained for a versionof the library must be
consistent with the full freedom d use specified in this license.
Most GNU software,including some libraries, is covered bythe ordinary GNU General Public License. This license,the GNU Lesser General Public License,
applies to certain designated libraries, and is quite differentfrom 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 program is linked with alibrary, whether statically or using a shared library,the combinationof thetwo is legally speaking a combined work, a derivative of
the original library. The ordinary General Public License therefore permits such linking only if the entire combinationfits its criteria d freedom. The Lesser General
Public License permits more lax criteria for linking other code with the library.
We call this license the "Lesser" General Public License because it does Less to protect the user's freedom than the ordinary General Public License. It also
provides other free software developersLess of an advantage over competing non-free programs. These disadvantages are the reasonwe use the ordinary
General Public License for many librades. However,the Lesser license provides advantages in certain special circumstances.
For example, on rare occasions,there may be a special need to encouragethe widest possible use of a certain library, so that it becomes a de-facto standard.To
achieve this, non4ree programs must be allowed to use the library.A more frequent case is thata free library does the samejob as widely used non-free libraries.
Inthis case,there is little to gainby limitingthe free libraryto free software only, sowe use the Lesser General PublicLicense.
In other cases, permission to use a particular library in non4ree programs enables agreater number of people to use a large body of free software.For example,
permission to use the GNU C Library in non-free programs enablesmany more people to use the whole GNU operating system, aswell as its variant, the GNU/
Unux operating system.
Although the Lesser General PublicLicense is Less protective d the users' freedom, it does ensure that the user ofa programthat is linked with the Library has
the freedom and the wherewithal to run that programusing a modified versiond the Library.
The precise terms and conditions for copying, distribution and modification follow. Payclose attention to the difference between a "work based on the library" anda
"work that uses the library". Theformer contains code derivedfrom the library, whereas the latter must be combined with the library in order to run.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING, DISTRIBUTION AND MODIFICATION
0. This LicenseAgreement applies to any software libraryor other programwhich containsa 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 1his License"). Each licensee is addressed as "you".
A"library" means a collection of software functions and/or data prepared so asto be conveniently linked with application programs(which use some ofthose
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 onthe Library" means either the
Library or any derivative work under copyrightlaw: that is to say, awork containingthe Libraryor aportion of it, either verbatim or with modifications and/or
translated straightforwardly into another language. (Hereinafter,translation is included without limitation in the term "modification".)
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