Summary

[Python] cProfile module license seems not free

Type

Bug

Category

Other

Raised by

crap0101

Date opened

2009–09–17

Description

the Python’s cProfile module

http://docs.python.org/library/profile.html#module-cProfile , part of the default Python distributions, has a - probably - non free license (see the link above).

The freedom issue regards the last period of the license notice: “This permission is explicitly restricted to the copying and modification of the software to remain in Python, compiled Python, or other languages (such as C) wherein the modified or derived code is exclusively imported into a Python module.”

As far i can understand, this mean i can’t use this code as base to write a Perl or Ruby tool (for example); if true, i think this restiction makes this module non free.

Update: This bug seems to be fixed upstream in Debian:

Python bug: http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-dev/2005-February/051450.html

Debian bug: http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=293932

InfoSeek info: http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=29915

Indeed, i can’t find any reference of the cProfile code/licence in the source package (Python2.5):

Files checked:

crap0101@gNS01:~/Scrivania/PYTHON$ find $PWD -type f -iregex '.*profile.*'
/home/crap0101/Scrivania/PYTHON/python2.5-2.5.2/debian/patches/profile-doc.dpatch
/home/crap0101/Scrivania/PYTHON/python2.5-2.5.2/Lib/test/test_cProfile.py
/home/crap0101/Scrivania/PYTHON/python2.5-2.5.2/Lib/test/output/test_profile
/home/crap0101/Scrivania/PYTHON/python2.5-2.5.2/Lib/test/output/test_cProfile
/home/crap0101/Scrivania/PYTHON/python2.5-2.5.2/Lib/test/test_profilehooks.py
/home/crap0101/Scrivania/PYTHON/python2.5-2.5.2/Lib/test/test_profile.py
/home/crap0101/Scrivania/PYTHON/python2.5-2.5.2/Lib/cProfile.py
/home/crap0101/Scrivania/PYTHON/python2.5-2.5.2/Doc/lib/libprofile.tex
/home/crap0101/Scrivania/PYTHON/python2.5-2.5.2/Mac/BuildScript/scripts/postflight.patch-profile

crap0101 - 2009–09–22

Compared with the original tarball from python.org, definitely the non-free files has been removed. I think this bug can be closed.

crap0101 - 2009–10–07

Status

Closed

Importance

3

Target Release

deltah

Resolution

Thanks for checking this out, closing. kgoetz

Date closed

2009–10–12

Comments

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