Comment by musicale | Hacker News Reader

Comment by musicale | Hacker News Reader

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Slightly off-topic, but related to Qt's LGPL license: how are random users actually supposed to obtain the source code to an LGPL library that is included with an app distributed in binary form?

For example, in Safari>Help>Acknowledgments there's lots of licensing information, including a lengthy LGPL section of fine print, but they really don't make it obvious how to get the LGPL source code. (It does seem to be on github, but there is no mention of that in the text.)

And I really have no idea how to download the GPL/LGPL source code from a random iOS app.

Shouldn't there be a download button or something for each GPL or LGPL component? (Maybe from the internet archive or gnu.org or something that is expected to persist longer than the average github/gitlab/bitbucket/sourceforge/etc. repo?)

I did the research for the requirements to use Qt LGPL before (NOTE: idk if all these things are required, maybe the Qt Company is exaggerating when they claim all these things are required, someone more familiar with LGPL please chime in).

1. Product manual must mention you use Qt LGPL, and include the text of LGPL

2. Graphical software (desktop or terminal) must mention you use Qt LGPL, and include the text of LGPL. Usually this goes in Help -> About/Acknowledgements.

3. If the customer requests the source code, you must provide it on request. They can contact you and you mail them a USB flash drive or download link. Most companies seem to pre-emptively place the source on their website and include a link to it.

4. You must allow the user to rebuild/replace the Qt libraries your program uses, including instructions on how to do this if it's not trivial.

So in your case, simply email the developer and request the LGPL source code and instructions on how to build/replace the product's LGPL libraries.

> simply email the developer

How would I find out their email address if it's not listed?

Occasionally I've tried contacting the developer via the "app support" link in the app store. Much of the time it's broken. Other times no contact information is provided. And of the times that there was actually a way to contact the developer, I've only rarely been able to get a response.

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