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<h2>Toybox is licensed under the terms of GPLv2.</h2>

<p>The complete text of the General Public License version 2 is included in the
file LICENSE in each source tarball.  Version 2 is the only version of this
license which toybox is distributed under.  (I.E. It doesn't have the strange
"or later" dual license some projects have.)</p>

<p>The complete text of GPLv2 is at the end of this page.</p>

<h2>Clarifications</h2>

<p>The GPL is a bit old and crufty in places, but it's still the best open
source license there is, and lots of source code (like the Linux kernel) is
distributed under it.  Lots of de facto interpretations have sprung up to deal
with things like the fact that it predates the internet service provider
industry.  Nothing in the rest of this page changes the actual license, so you
can ignore the rest of this page if you're happy with a strict reading of
GPLv2.  But just to be clear, here's how the authors of this project are
interpreting the sucker where it says something stupid.</p>

<p>Section 1: <b>You have permission to rephrase the license notice on
individual source files.</b>  This doesn't mean you can change what license the
code is under, or that you can remove other people's copyright notices.  You
certainly can't change the text of the GPL itself.  What it means is that if
a file says "see file LICENSE in this tarball for details" and you use this
code in a project that distributes source in zip files instead of
tarballs, or your package's copy of the GPLv2 text isn't in a file called
"LICENSE", it's silly to preserve an obsolete notice verbatim and add some
kind of "correction" after the old notice.</p>

<p>Some lawyers seem to think a strict reading of GPLv2 section 1 (and later
sections including section 1 by reference) requires maintaining old notices in
perpetuity.  Even if you had code that used to be dual licensed, but you created
a derived work that's just under one of the two licenses, and thus keeping the
old license notice is not just strange or misleading but actually incorrect for
the new file.  (For example, splicing GPLv2 only code into a dual "GPLv2 or
later" project produces a result that can be distributed under the terms of
GPLv2, but not GPLv3.  The result of that cannot be distributed under the "or
later" part, so a license notice implying it could is factually wrong.)</p>

<p>I don't know if we're ever going to add any dual licensed code into the tree,
but I want to head that one off now.  The actual license text is the important
thing, the per-file notice is a courtesy.</p>

<p>Section 2: <b>We don't put the change history in comments in the source
code, we put it in our source control system.</b>  We have source control for a
reason.  That's where this information belongs, and that's where we put it.
It's world readable on the web, and you can download a snapshot of the whole
repository if you like.  The GPL predates modern source control systems, but
this project does not.</p>

<p>Section 3: <b>We distribute source code through the internet.</b>  If
your "written offer" includes a URL, and the source code remains anonymously
downloadable at that location for three years after you stop distributing
binaries, life is good as far as we're concerned.  (No, you can't encrypt it,
or require a login, or otherwise be slimy bastards acting in bad faith.  We'll
come after you if you're not satisfying the terms of the license, this is just
talking about how you can satisfy those terms without having to mail physical
media circa 1991.  Most people are already doing it this way, we're just
being explicit about it.)</p>

<p>If you're wondering why this particular clarification exists,
there's a <a href=licenserant.html>longer explanation</a>.</p>

<p>Finally, <b>section 9 does not apply to this project.</b>  We're specifying
a specific version, it's version 2.  There is no "or later versions" clause to
require interpreting, so none of that triggers for us.</p>

<hr>
<pre>
		    GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
		       Version 2, June 1991

 Copyright (C) 1989, 1991 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
     59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307  USA
 Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies
 of this license document, but changing it is not allowed.

			    Preamble

  The licenses for most software are designed to take away your
freedom to share and change it.  By contrast, the GNU General Public
License is intended to guarantee your freedom to share and change free
software--to make sure the software is free for all its users.  This
General Public License applies to most of the Free Software
Foundation's software and to any other program whose authors commit to
using it.  (Some other Free Software Foundation software is covered by
the GNU Library General Public License instead.)  You can apply it to
your programs, too.

  When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not
price.  Our General Public Licenses are designed to make sure that you
have the freedom to distribute copies of free software (and charge for
this service if you wish), that you receive source code or can get it
if you want it, that you can change the software or use pieces of it
in new free programs; and that you know you can do these things.

  To protect your rights, we need to make restrictions that forbid
anyone to deny you these rights or to ask you to surrender the rights.
These restrictions translate to certain responsibilities for you if you
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  For example, if you distribute copies of such a program, whether
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you have.  You must make sure that they, too, receive or can get the
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  We protect your rights with two steps: (1) copyright the software, and
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  Also, for each author's protection and ours, we want to make certain
that everyone understands that there is no warranty for this free
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  Finally, any free program is threatened constantly by software
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  The precise terms and conditions for copying, distribution and
modification follow.

		    GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
   TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING, DISTRIBUTION AND MODIFICATION

  0. This License applies to any program or other work which contains
a notice placed by the copyright holder saying it may be distributed
under the terms of this General Public License.  The "Program", below,
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Activities other than copying, distribution and modification are not
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is covered only if its contents constitute a work based on the
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Whether that is true depends on what the Program does.

  1. You may copy and distribute verbatim copies of the Program's
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conspicuously and appropriately publish on each copy an appropriate
copyright notice and disclaimer of warranty; keep intact all the
notices that refer to this License and to the absence of any warranty;
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You may charge a fee for the physical act of transferring a copy, and
you may at your option offer warranty protection in exchange for a fee.

  2. You may modify your copy or copies of the Program or any portion
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    a) You must cause the modified files to carry prominent notices
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    b) You must cause any work that you distribute or publish, that in
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    c) If the modified program normally reads commands interactively
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These requirements apply to the modified work as a whole.  If
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Thus, it is not the intent of this section to claim rights or contest
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In addition, mere aggregation of another work not based on the Program
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except as expressly provided under this License.  Any attempt
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  8. If the distribution and/or use of the Program is restricted in
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may add an explicit geographical distribution limitation excluding
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Each version is given a distinguishing version number.  If the Program
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  10. If you wish to incorporate parts of the Program into other free
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			    NO WARRANTY

  11. BECAUSE THE PROGRAM IS LICENSED FREE OF CHARGE, THERE IS NO WARRANTY
FOR THE PROGRAM, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.  EXCEPT WHEN
OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES
PROVIDE THE PROGRAM "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED
OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  THE ENTIRE RISK AS
TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS WITH YOU.  SHOULD THE
PROGRAM PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING,
REPAIR OR CORRECTION.

  12. IN NO EVENT UNLESS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW OR AGREED TO IN WRITING
WILL ANY COPYRIGHT HOLDER, OR ANY OTHER PARTY WHO MAY MODIFY AND/OR
REDISTRIBUTE THE PROGRAM AS PERMITTED ABOVE, BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR DAMAGES,
INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING
OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE PROGRAM (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED
TO LOSS OF DATA OR DATA BEING RENDERED INACCURATE OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY
YOU OR THIRD PARTIES OR A FAILURE OF THE PROGRAM TO OPERATE WITH ANY OTHER
PROGRAMS), EVEN IF SUCH HOLDER OR OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE
POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

		     END OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS
</pre>
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