MantisBT - Doomseeker
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IDProjectCategoryView StatusDate SubmittedLast Update
0003295Doomseeker[All Projects] Suggestionpublic2017-10-07 09:402024-11-03 19:09
ReporterWubTheCaptain 
Assigned ToZalewa 
PrioritylowSeveritytrivialReproducibilityN/A
StatusclosedResolutionwon't fix 
PlatformOSOS Version
Product Version1.1 
Target VersionFixed in Version1.4.0 
Summary0003295: Rename LICENSE files to COPYING
DescriptionCurrently, Doomseeker has license text in files named LICENSE and LICENSE.json.

It's a GNU release convention to have the license texts in a file called COPYING. Sometimes you also find the LGPL text in a file called COPYING.LESSER.

I propose Doomseeker to adopt GNU's terminology for the files to possibly satisfy both worlds/release practices.
Steps To Reproduce
$ mv LICENSE COPYING
$ mv LICENSE.json COPYING.json
$ # Commit to Mercurial, done.
Additional Information'https://www.gnu.org/prep/standards/standards.html#Releases [^]'
TagsNo tags attached.
Relationships
related to 0003247confirmed  Doomseeker's manual page (mdoc/nroff) is missing or incomplete 
related to 0003237closed WubTheCaptain Non-free files and copyright issues in source archive 
related to 0003308closed WubTheCaptain Include a copy of the GNU GPL license, regardless of release under the GNU LGPL 
related to 0003309closed Zalewa FixedFtpReply and FixedNetworkAccessManager have missing license files 
Attached Filespatch 0001-rename-license-files-to-copying.patch (58,187) 2017-10-22 21:25
https://zandronum.com/tracker/file_download.php?file_id=2222&type=bug
Issue History
Date ModifiedUsernameFieldChange
2017-10-07 09:40WubTheCaptainNew Issue
2017-10-07 09:41WubTheCaptainNote Added: 0018457
2017-10-07 09:41WubTheCaptainRelationship addedrelated to 0003247
2017-10-07 10:46ZalewaNote Added: 0018462
2017-10-22 21:21WubTheCaptainRelationship addedrelated to 0003308
2017-10-22 21:25WubTheCaptainFile Added: 0001-rename-license-files-to-copying.patch
2017-10-22 21:26WubTheCaptainNote Added: 0018599
2017-10-22 21:26WubTheCaptainAssigned To => WubTheCaptain
2017-10-22 21:26WubTheCaptainStatusnew => needs review
2017-10-22 21:26WubTheCaptainNote Edited: 0018599bug_revision_view_page.php?bugnote_id=18599#r11181
2017-10-22 21:30WubTheCaptainNote Added: 0018600
2017-10-22 21:33WubTheCaptainNote Added: 0018601
2017-10-22 21:34WubTheCaptainRelationship addedrelated to 0003237
2017-10-22 21:39ZalewaNote Added: 0018602
2017-10-22 21:41ZalewaNote Added: 0018603
2017-10-22 21:46WubTheCaptainStatusneeds review => assigned
2017-10-22 21:49WubTheCaptainNote Added: 0018605
2017-10-22 22:10WubTheCaptainRelationship addedrelated to 0003309
2017-10-22 22:43WubTheCaptainNote Added: 0018611
2017-10-22 22:43WubTheCaptainStatusassigned => feedback
2017-10-22 22:51WubTheCaptainNote Added: 0018612
2017-10-22 22:51WubTheCaptainStatusfeedback => assigned
2017-10-22 23:47WubTheCaptainStatusassigned => feedback
2017-10-23 04:18Blzut3Note Added: 0018617
2017-10-23 13:03WubTheCaptainNote Added: 0018618
2017-10-23 13:03WubTheCaptainStatusfeedback => assigned
2017-10-23 13:03WubTheCaptainStatusassigned => closed
2017-10-23 13:03WubTheCaptainResolutionopen => denied
2017-10-24 00:42Blzut3Note Added: 0018620
2017-10-25 00:07WubTheCaptainNote Added: 0018622
2017-10-25 00:10WubTheCaptainNote Edited: 0018622bug_revision_view_page.php?bugnote_id=18622#r11187
2017-10-25 00:12WubTheCaptainNote Edited: 0018622bug_revision_view_page.php?bugnote_id=18622#r11188
2017-10-25 00:16WubTheCaptainNote Added: 0018623
2017-10-25 00:16WubTheCaptainStatusclosed => feedback
2017-10-25 00:16WubTheCaptainResolutiondenied => reopened
2017-10-25 00:19WubTheCaptainNote Edited: 0018623bug_revision_view_page.php?bugnote_id=18623#r11190
2017-10-25 00:23WubTheCaptainNote Edited: 0018622bug_revision_view_page.php?bugnote_id=18622#r11191
2017-10-25 00:23WubTheCaptainNote Edited: 0018622bug_revision_view_page.php?bugnote_id=18622#r11192
2017-10-29 01:12Blzut3Note Added: 0018641
2017-10-29 19:12WubTheCaptainNote Added: 0018660
2017-10-29 19:12WubTheCaptainStatusfeedback => assigned
2017-10-29 19:12WubTheCaptainAssigned ToWubTheCaptain =>
2017-10-29 19:12WubTheCaptainStatusassigned => acknowledged
2017-10-29 19:38WubTheCaptainNote Deleted: 0018600
2017-10-29 19:39WubTheCaptainNote Deleted: 0018601
2017-10-29 19:39WubTheCaptainNote Deleted: 0018603
2017-10-29 19:39WubTheCaptainNote Deleted: 0018605
2018-09-22 15:52WubTheCaptainTarget Version1.2 =>
2018-10-05 08:43WubTheCaptainPrioritynormal => low
2022-09-10 10:27ZalewaAssigned To => Zalewa
2022-09-10 10:27ZalewaStatusacknowledged => assigned
2022-09-10 10:29ZalewaNote Added: 0022380
2022-09-10 13:14ZalewaNote Added: 0022381
2022-09-10 13:14ZalewaStatusassigned => resolved
2022-09-10 13:14ZalewaResolutionreopened => won't fix
2022-09-10 13:14ZalewaFixed in Version => 1.4.0
2024-11-03 19:09ZalewaStatusresolved => closed

Notes
(0018457)
WubTheCaptain   
2017-10-07 09:41   
I've tagged this to target version 1.2 because I'd like to know which convention to follow with the manual pages and copyright notice.
(0018462)
Zalewa   
2017-10-07 10:46   
I have no objections.
(0018599)
WubTheCaptain   
2017-10-22 21:26   
Patch attached. First time using Mercurial.
(0018602)
Zalewa   
2017-10-22 21:39   
1. I think Mercurial needs to be explicitly told to track file renames:'http://hgtip.com/tips/advanced/2009-09-30-detecting-renames-automatically/ [^]' . If you don't do this, you'll lose history continuity for the renamed files.

2. The license files are actually being installed by CMakeLists.txt, at least for Windows builds. If you rename them without adjusting CMakeLists.txt, you essentially break 'make install'.

3. There's now interesting incosistency between COPYING.json and COPYING.LESSER. COPYING.LESSER is a standard name for a file containing LGPL license, however COPYING.json file contains a BSD license for the JSON library, which is baked into Doomseeker. Considering that COPYING.LESSER is a standard and COPYING.json follows the same naming pattern, even though it is something that we made up, then one, at a glance, could incorrectly assume that COPYING.json is some kind of a generic "json" license. I might be blowing the problem out of proportions, though.
(0018611)
WubTheCaptain   
2017-10-22 22:43   
Can we remove LICENSE.json from the root? We satisfy the conditions by including the copyright notice in the source file header and in the about dialog of Doomseeker. There's a distinction between "retaining" the copyright notice for source code and "reproducing" the copyright notice, so it should be fine in the about dialog.

If not, what do you propose the LICENSE.json file to be named?
(0018612)
WubTheCaptain   
2017-10-22 22:51   
I should read more and type less. The about dialog isn't the full copyright notice.

Do you still have a proposal for the filename?
(0018617)
Blzut3   
2017-10-23 04:18   
Per my comment in 0003308 the COPYING.LESSER convention is an LGPLv3 thing related to LGPLv3 referencing the GPLv3 vs including the full text. Since we're using v2.1 there's nothing that needs to be done there.
(0018618)
WubTheCaptain   
2017-10-23 13:03   
We could've named it lgpl-2.1.txt, but that's out of scope for this ticket's suggestion. I'm thinking the FDL license file (if adopted for manuals) may be called fdl-1.3.txt.

Per Blzut3, closing.
(0018620)
Blzut3   
2017-10-24 00:42   
Were all other points in the ticket addressed? I was only referring to LICENSE -> COPYING.LESSER instead of just COPYING.
(0018622)
WubTheCaptain   
2017-10-25 00:07   
(edited on: 2017-10-25 00:23)
If I somehow renamed the LGPLv2.1 license file to COPYING, but later there was LGPLv3 or GPLv3 introduced, it would create a bigger conflict with GNU's conventions.

If anything, I'd name it lgpl-2.1.txt but that's an idea for another suggestive ticket. I also plan on doing AUTHORS, Copyright, README and maybe other more descriptive files.

PS: 0003309 for the header problem.
(0018623)
WubTheCaptain   
2017-10-25 00:16   
(edited on: 2017-10-25 00:19)
We could name it COPYING.LIB.'https://web.archive.org/web/20070626172140/https://www.gnu.org/prep/standards/standards.html [^]'

Quote from GNU Coding Standards (2007)
The README file should also refer to the file which contains the copying conditions. The GNU GPL, if used, should be in a file called COPYING. If the GNU LGPL is used, it should be in a file called COPYING.LIB.


Thoughts?
(0018641)
Blzut3   
2017-10-29 01:12   
Personally I still find it more relevant to note what part of the software is covered by the license rather than what license it is in the filename. So I'm more partial to just string replace LICENSE to COPYING and leave the extensions (or lack thereof) as is.
(0018660)
WubTheCaptain   
2017-10-29 19:12   
Unassigning myself from this for a while.

A possible problem I see with one file called "COPYING" with all licenses concatenated inside is referencing from a file such as a manual page, which would not be under LGPLv2.1+ or qt-json's BSD or GPL license. Would a manual page then have to reference to, let's say, a file named "fdl-1.3.txt"?

If we still did name LICENSE (LGPLv2.1) to COPYING (LGPLv2.1 and BSD), I feel like it'd not be exactly up to GNU's current practices or conventions (COPYING = GPLv3, COPYING.LESSER = LGPLv3) but on contrary a potential conflict.

I can't think what the right solution is. If COPYING.LIB is not the right way to call it (and referencing from README or COPYING to it for LGPLv2.1 text), then I'd close this ticket as denied or invalid.
(0022380)
Zalewa   
2022-09-10 10:29   
As the "LICENSE.json" file is no more this is now much easier to do.
(0022381)
Zalewa   
2022-09-10 13:14   
And by "much easier to do" the amount of comments here still make this a complete clusterfuck so I'm opting to doing nothing rather than doing another brownian motion that would amount up to nothing except potential new install bugs. Closing as "won't fix".