Creating a Win32 Library for GPG?

Frank Tobin ftobin@uiuc.edu
Fri, 21 Apr 2000 14:31:57 -0500 (CDT)


Ryan Erwin, at 11:44 -0700 on Fri, 21 Apr 2000, wrote:

> That is all very true, but it still doesn't make it the most desirable
> way for most people to use GPG, especially if they would like to
> include the capabilities of GPG in another application.

You should realize that on UNIX, at least, this is pretty much the
standard way to implement another program's capabilities.  Programs such
as mutt which 'seem' to have integrated GnuPG do fork/exec calls.  Note
that GnuPG has a rich set of communication handles to use, and a
well-structured option-parsing mechanism, so you aren't missing out on
much.

> - Do the licensing terms of GPG allow it to be converted to a
> LGPL library that could be used by oss and commercial apps?

As far as I know, the GPL does not allow this.  You should read the GPL
yourself for clarification.  However, you simply call GnuPG through
fork/exec calls, you can use this technique in non-GPL software.  Also
note that the FSF, which holds the copyright for GnuPG, seeks to have more
stuff under the GPL than the LGPL:

http://www.fsf.org/philosophy/why-not-lgpl.html

-- 
Frank Tobin		http://www.uiuc.edu/~ftobin/

"To learn what is good and what is to be valued,
those truths which cannot be shaken or changed."  Myst: The Book of Atrus