Re: [edk2-devel] License Check - was OvmfPkg: Adding support for bhyve as OvmfPkg/Bhyve

["Liming Gao" <liming.gao@intel.com>]

Leif:

> -----Original Message-----
> From: devel@edk2.groups.io <devel@edk2.groups.io> On Behalf Of Leif Lindholm
> Sent: Thursday, July 2, 2020 6:54 PM
> To: Laszlo Ersek <lersek@redhat.com>
> Cc: Rebecca Cran <rebecca@bsdio.com>; edk2-devel-groups-io <devel@edk2.groups.io>; Ard Biesheuvel <ard.biesheuvel@arm.com>;
> Andrew Fish <afish@apple.com>; Justen, Jordan L <jordan.l.justen@intel.com>; Kinney, Michael D <michael.d.kinney@intel.com>
> Subject: Re: [edk2-devel] License Check - was OvmfPkg: Adding support for bhyve as OvmfPkg/Bhyve
> 
> On Thu, Jul 02, 2020 at 11:27:25 +0200, Laszlo Ersek wrote:
> > This likely comes from BaseTools commit a4cfb842fca9
> > ("BaseTools/PatchCheck.py: Add LicenseCheck", 2020-06-12).
> >
> > One approach would be to remove "VbeShim.h" from the tracked files under
> > OvmfPkg, replacing it with a PREBUILD command in the OVMF DSC files.
> > (Then Bhyve could do the same.)
> >
> > However, the generator, namely "VbeShim.sh", is not written in Python,
> > but in (POSIX) shell, and so it can't be called from PREBUILD (I think
> > it would break OVMF builds on Windows).
> >
> > I don't know what to tell you, other than the blanket license
> > enforcement from commit a4cfb842fca9 is likely wrong.
> 
> *Reads patch*
> *Figuratively spits coffee all over keyboard*
> 
> No, this is not OK.
> 
> We *STILL* have no agreed process for accepting non bsd+patent content
> since we dropped the contribution agreement. I have tried to raise
> this issue several times in the past, and there has never been any
> outcome from resulting discussions.
> 
> So now I'm going to send out a two-patch set consisting of:
> - Reverting a4cfb842fca9. (Doing nothing is better than implying that
>   anything !bsd+patent can currently be added to the tree.)
> - Deleting the statement in ReadmMe.rst erroneously claiming that the
>   includion of these other licenses are acceptable until such a point
>   an active decision has been taken, approved by the community, that
>   this is permitted.
> 

If only bsd+patent is allowed, the checker can be enhanced to check this license only. 
I don't understand why remove this checker.

Thanks
Liming
> > The generated include file *must* be a ".h" file, otherwise the INF file
> > reference won't be able to trigger an incremental build, if I understand
> > correctly. So replacing the ".h" suffix with something else, such as
> > ".genh" (for "generated header") won't work, I believe.
> >
> > Modifying the printf invocations in the generator script to also output
> > a license header would not be right either, IMO. A license tag makes no
> > sense (I think) without a copyright (C) statement. And what copyright
> > (C) notice should we put on a generated file?
> >
> > Furthermore, although "ReadMe.rst" in the project root states
> >
> > """
> > Contributions of code put into the public domain can also be accepted.
> > """
> >
> > I don't see how the license check implemented in commit a4cfb842fca9
> > would accommodate a public domain contribution. (I think it would be
> > fine to place the the generated header file in the public domain, *if*
> > (a) we could express that somehow (is there an SPDX tag for that?),
> > *and* (b) if that would eliminate the need for a (C) notice / authorship
> > mark.)
> 
> Public domain is not an OSI-compatible license:
> https://opensource.org/node/878
> 
> The public domain statement is also one that needs to be re-evaluated
> in light of the dropped contribution agreement.
> 
> /
>     Leif
> 
> > Note that this generator use case is not unique to QemuVideoDxe; see for
> > example commit 1e9d6b0f98b5 ("OvmfPkg/OvmfXen: Creating an ELF header",
> > 2019-08-21).
> >
> > I've now filed a bug for BaseTools:
> >
> > https://bugzilla.tianocore.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2833
> >
> > Once that bug is solved -- that is, once we standardize a tag for
> > marking generated source files as such --, we can update "VbeShim.sh" to
> > produce the tag, in "VbeShim.h". Then OvmfPkg/Bhyve can do the same.
> >
> > Thanks
> > Laszlo
> >
> 
>