Network access to Win10

Plus, CDDL is incompatible with GPL so code can’t be sneaked off that way; whereas the MPL specifically allows MPL code to be “relicensed” as GPL if necessary to satisfy the vital nature of GPL.

Is this actually a problem in practice? EUPL also allows code to be re-licenced as GPL, but it doesn’t allow the project to be irreversibly re-licenced¹. And the GPL isn’t permissive, so it’s not a back-door to making it a commercial product without releasing the changes to the source.

This compatibility is one of the reasons that I like the EUPL: it’s not the GPL, but if someone else wants to use my code in a GPL project, they can fill their boots. MPL seemed to offer that facility, too.

¹ As in, you can fork it and make your fork GPL (and the nice people at the FSF have a handy guide on how to do this for EUPL projects), but you can’t un-EUPL my version of the code.

I am trying to settle this this weekend, so that open source LM98 can be finalised next week. I’m swayed towards CDDL based on pre-existing use in the RISC OS codebase, but MPL has “off the shelf” headers etc that makes life very easy in terms of updating files, and Mozilla still exists whilst many Sun (CDDL) sites have expired. Both seem to fit the bill licence-wise, unless I’m missing something obvious, so it may end up being a practical decision in the end.

Hi Andrew.

Got your email, and I’m now sitting at the Pi so…

An example of CDDL is SDFS → https://www.riscosopen.org/viewer/view/cddl/RiscOS/Sources/FileSys/SDFS/SDFS/
(linking to the older CVS as I’m using NetSurf)

You can see the included LICENCE file (inlcuding an appropriate modification relating to UK law), and looking at any of the sources, you can see that there’s a fairly simple header to copy-paste.

That there isn’t an easy URL to an official version of CDDL doesn’t make it less useful as a licence. It’s just Sun being…well…Sun. It is an OSI approved licence.
You can find a copy here: https://opensource.org/licenses/CDDL-1.0
But do pay attention to the notice at the bottom of the RISC OS version. That’s why you should include your own copy.

My vote would be for CDDL on the basis that it seems to fit your requirements (something MPL-like) and that it is already a licence used within RISC OS, which might make things a little simpler if LM98 is ever going to be made a part of RISC OS proper.

Having looked over the things linked in Rick’s post above, I’m now inclined to go CDDL on the basis that matching existing code in RISC OS (from Ben, no less) makes a lot of sense. In reality, both MPL 2.0 and CDDL would, I think, fit the bill, but if I can avoid introducing yet more licences to the RISC OS codebase, it is probably a good thing.

Any final objections/suggestions? If not, I’ll get that sorted out this week.

The best guide I know for “Connecting a RISC OS computer running LanMan98 to a Windows 10 PC” is Bernard Veasey’s guide available here

Chris, fyi that link is broken (404 error).

fyi that link is broken

As tested on a Mac there is a certificate issue with the https link as originally given

An unsecure http link works

Sorry, my web space provider currently has a problem with Auto SSL renewal and I am waiting for them to fix it!!!
So for now http://www.bapfish.org.uk/networking.htm works but
https://www.bapfish.org.uk/networking.htm does not currently work until they fix it.

From the Bapfish site:

Make sure you have edited your RISC OS Hosts file to show the IP address and name of your Windows PC.

It doesn’t support WINS or NETBIOS or whatever?

but you can’t un-EUPL my version of the code.

True, but if anybody further develops the GPL version, you cannot use any of that yourself. So much for “freedom”…

The actual distinctions between the various copyleft licences are mostly political; though it is my personal belief that one should resist against a false prophet of “open” code that is only open if everybody else uses the same, but is otherwise quite restrictive.

And the GPL isn’t permissive, so it’s not a back-door to making it a commercial product without releasing the changes to the source.

Except…exactly that happens quite frequently. A lot of manufacturers don’t bother to reply (re. my IPcam with a rather critical flaw), or those that bother to release something only provide the stuff that is considered GPL and is insufficient to recreate any firmware (at least RISC OS provides the Resolver, ShareFS, and Freeway as binary blobs!).

My personal thinking here is that if one was really worried about commercial procurement of their code, they wouldn’t be releasing it at all, as no licence makes guarantees. GPL might pretend to, but there’s a big difference between what is written and what actually gets enforced.

So the best solution is to choose a licence that fits in with what else is already being used. In this specific case, there is already CDDL within the RISC OS codebase, and it’s a reasonably complete licence. That it doesn’t play well with GPL is irrelevant as there’s no GPL within RISC OS (and anyway, the problem is with GPL).

More specifically, I don’t think the Apache licence requires source to be made available (it’s hard to read on a phone, especially with how Chrome messes with the text size), CDDL does. So it’s a good choice for those who believe in the ethos of open source.

For those having trouble with LanManFS/98 on Windows 10, I came across an interesting tidbit in the Microsoft notes

Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro still contain the SMBv1 client by default after a clean installation. If the SMBv1 client is not used for 15 days in total (excluding the computer being turned off), it automatically uninstalls itself.

In-place upgrades and Insider flights of Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro do not automatically remove SMBv1 initially. Windows evaluate the usage of SMBv1 client and server, and if either of them is not used for 15 days in total (excluding the time during which the computer is off), Windows will automatically uninstall it.

Automatic removal of SMBv1 after 15 days is a one-time operation. If an administrator re-installs SMBv1, no further attempts will be made to uninstall it.

So I think that means every time Windows upgrades itself, it waits 15 days and then uninstalls SMB1 if you haven’t used it in the last 15 days. If you then reinstall it, it’ll keep working – until the next time Windows updates itself.

That might explain why LanMan randomly stops talking to Windows 10.