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SDL -- Rolaty Free for Commercial Use -- Right?

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1 comment, last by GroZZleR 21 years, 10 months ago
I''m not drunk right, I''m more than welcome to send around SDL.dll and charge for any products I make without sending a penny to anyone, correct?
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Yes, as long as you link dynamically you are only required by the LGPL to provide the source code of the library (SDL) with the game. I think you can technically not include it with the game as long as you tell people where they can download it. You do have to make sure to say that you''re using SDL somewhere in your documentation. Here''s a quote from SDL''s site:

quote:
Q:Can I use SDL in a commercial application? A:The simple answer is "Yes", just dynamically link with SDL and you''re fine.

Full details are available at: http://www.libsdl.org/license.php


You can do this because SDL is LGPL. It''s nice that it exists. Had it been GPL you''d have to include your game''s source with the binary. LGPL allows you to include just the library''s source if you didn''t statically link it with the game. This way people can modify the library (since it''s a DLL) without having to recompile your game.
These things are also being discussed on the sdl mailing list sometimes and i have the impression that they also don''t now or don''t care about the specific rules of lgpl. It seems very unlikely that they are going to sue you (unlike slashdotters they are not very anal about legel stuff).
What i understand from the lgpl is that
- you can dynamically link with you programm and distribute it with the source of the library.
- you can also distribute it without the source of the library if you are prepared to make the source available from the same place where they binary was obtained for at least three years.

I think the last option is best suited for a commercial programm, just make a link on you website where your customers can request the source.

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