[linux-lvm] Feature request: support for editline

[Bastian Germann]

Hi,

LVM2 is distributed under GPLv2 only. The readline library changed its
license long ago to GPLv3. Given that those licenses are incompatible
and you follow the FSF in their interpretation that dynamically linking
creates a derivative work, distributing LVM2 linked against a current
readline version might be legally problematic.

That is why the Debian project still keeps an old readline version
around that they use for LVM2 [1] and some other packages.
For Fedora, I can find a mail thread reporting the same issue [4].

Many projects that cannot or do not want to depend on GPL(v3) code allow
configuring with the BSD licensed editline library instead.

Please consider implementing support for compiling with one of the
editline implementations [2,3] so that people can move to a maintained
library without license headaches.

Regards,
Bastian

[1]: https://tracker.debian.org/media/packages/l/lvm2/control-2.03.07-1
[2]: https://thrysoee.dk/editline/
[3]: https://troglobit.com/projects/editline/
[4]:
https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-legal-list/2009-December/msg00007.html