License for units?

Peardox · April 25, 2025, 8:12am

Writing my own FPC/Delphi Library + Apps

I’ve pinched dynlibs and a few trivial odds+sods (to make dynlibs stand-alone)

Project I’m writing is Pascal for Whisper.cpp (a shed-load of DLLs - hence dynlibs)

The fundamentals are working at GitHub - WhisperBooks/PasWhisper - it needs the C/C++ libraries building to actually do anything though (experimenting with them a lot). Just got the Laz CLI working (FP Exceptions were killing it, didn’t need it in Delphi…). So far it only runs a benchmark - fun things to come…

So - what’s the license in regard to dynlibs (and a few bits?). Whisper.cpp is MIT, mine will be also.

When finished it’s got the ability to sort-of be game related. If the game involved you speaking to it that is. The main whisper.cpp site has Chess you can talk to (don’t think it plays, possibly just a web interface - not tried it)

Noscow · April 25, 2025, 9:54am

As I understand, Dynlibs is a part of System unit?
If them included into FPC source code, license is GNU GPL.

github.com/fpc/FPCSource

rtl/COPYING.FPC

main

This is the file COPYING.FPC, it applies to the Free Pascal Run-Time Library 
(RTL) and packages (packages) distributed by members of the Free Pascal 
Development Team.

The source code of the Free Pascal Runtime Libraries and packages are 
distributed under the Library GNU General Public License 
(see the file COPYING) with the following modification:

As a special exception, the copyright holders of this library give you
permission to link this library with independent modules to produce an
executable, regardless of the license terms of these independent modules,
and to copy and distribute the resulting executable under terms of your choice,
provided that you also meet, for each linked independent module, the terms
and conditions of the license of that module. An independent module is a module
which is not derived from or based on this library. If you modify this
library, you may extend this exception to your version of the library, but you are
not obligated to do so. If you do not wish to do so, delete this exception
statement from your version.

If you didn't receive a copy of the file COPYING, contact:

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Peardox · April 25, 2025, 1:21pm

OK, typo - it’s dynlib.pas, not part of system, part of CGE

michalis · April 25, 2025, 2:42pm

If you actually mean CastleDynLib, unit in our engine:

It’s part of the engine, so follow the license is as specified on license page The engine units are covered by LGPL with static linking exception, which is the same license as used by FPC RTL and Lazarus LCL, and means that you can link them (statically or dynamically) with anything on any license (including proprietary), however you need to share (with anyone who gets your binary) the source code of your modifications to the engine units (so e.g. you need to show your modified version of CastleDynLib.pas).

Of course if the result of your work is on MIT license, which is even more permissive than LGPL with static linking exception, then everything is good.

Peardox · April 25, 2025, 3:12pm

Yeah, that one

Library, examples, docs etc MIT
End User App(s) not MIT (maybe even commercial)

So similar in concept to CGE + TUS I guess
Might even make a Voice controlled CGE game in the end