HP 9000 series 200 emulator

[Tony Duell]

> 
> It was thus said that the Great Tony Duell once stated:
> > > 
> > > If you look closely when 'RUNNING' the program, you will see a GPL notice ....
> > 
> > So you're saying I have to download a binary-only program and run it on a 
> > machine I don't own under an OS I don't have a license for to see this? 
> > 
> > In any case. I don't believe a binary-only program can be released under 
> > the GPL, certainly not under the GPL that I am familiar with. 
> 
>   Actually, one can release a binary-only program under the GPL.  The
> relevant portion of the GPL for this is:
> 
>   3. You may copy and distribute the Program (or a work based on it,
> under Section 2) in object code or executable form under the terms of
> Sections 1 and 2 above provided that you also do one of the following:
> 
> 	...
> 
>     b) Accompany it with a written offer, valid for at least three
>     years, to give any third party, for a charge no more than your
>     cost of physically performing source distribution, a complete
>     machine-readable copy of the corresponding source code, to be
>     distributed under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above on a medium
>     customarily used for software interchange; or,
> 
>     c) Accompany it with the information you received as to the offer
>     to distribute corresponding source code.  (This alternative is
>     allowed only for noncommercial distribution and only if you
>     received the program in object code or executable form with such
>     an offer, in accord with Subsection b above.)
> 
>   So, legally obtain the program, then ask for the source code.

Yes, agreed. But I think there;s a big difference between a binary-only 
distribution of a program and a program which is only distributed as a 
bianry.

Now, IANAL, but I take that to mean that it's quite legal for me to (say)
give you a disk with a GCC binary on it for a particular system (GCC being
a GPL'ed program, of coruse) provided I either offer you the source for
trh ecost of copying it, or tell you where to get it from

This is met in spirit, and I suspect in letter, by web siters that have 
one link to download a pre-configured program to run on Windows, say, and 
a separate link to donwload the source code for it. 

However, in the case of this HP9000/200 emualtor, the soruce code is not 
yet available to download. I happen to believe the author is honest, and 
that he will release the source code when he's tidied it up, but right 
now I can get the binary but not the soruce. 

Of course I sincerely hope nothing like this happens, but I can think of 
many reasons why the author would be unable to relase the souce code. 

So at this point, I do fail to see how the program, binary only, no 
source avaialble, can be released under the GPL. Once the source is 
available, of course it can be/

-tony