GPL-less alternatives to the Audit Userland

[Nathaniel Husted]

Some details on why Google is as finicky as they are with (L)GPL code
is located at http://source.android.com/source/licenses.html. The
executive summary is that because device manufacturers use static
system images on read-only partitions, they cannot comply fully with
(even) the LGPL. I am unsure of a more detailed reason and from here
can only speculate.

>From discussions I have had there is a bit more leniency with the
Android Open Source Project's external project space (source code
included but not necessarily pre-compiled with the OS images) for C
code (versus C++) but the situation sounds like they still don't find
it ideal. Again, I can only speculate on why. Even with the
reservations, they still seem receptive of the changes.

The current discussion thread is located at
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/android-contrib/mi2l8ln_O-I

Cheers,
Nathaniel

On Mon, Aug 20, 2012 at 3:55 PM, Steve Grubb <sgrubb at redhat.com> wrote:
> On Monday, August 20, 2012 02:33:36 PM Nathaniel Husted wrote:
>> For a while I've been working on a project that ports/forks Audit to
>> the Android platform (https://github.com/nwhusted/AuditdAndroid). I
>> currently have a proof of concept in operation and I am working on
>> getting the relevant kernel code back-patched and the userland code
>> integrated in Android. One of the primary issues raised at the moment
>> is the Android Open Source Project code base is not compatible with
>> GPL code. I am currently unaware of any userland audit interface that
>> is not under the GPL. I was wondering if anyone on the list knew of
>> any, if they even exist? Any information is much appreciated.
>
> libaudit is under LGPL which gives you as much latitude as Glibc. The Linux
> kernel itself is GPLv2. So, what's the problem with GPL on Android?
>
> -Steve