u-boot command for standalone application

Hi,

We are planning to have a non-GPL standalone application which does some
basic board checks and also holds a authentication key (which we don't want it to be published). The authentication code is in u-boot and will be released under GPL.

1. Is it ok if we implement uboot commands that would call into the standalone application API without violating GPL terms of u-boot? The command returns to the command line after execution. The arguments are passed from the uboot command line.

2. How to pass the authentication key from the standalone application to u-boot without violating the GPL license other than hard coding the address of the key location in the u-boot? Does this hardcoding violate the GPL terms of u-boot?

3. Is it ok to load the application from within the uboot into RAM and then let the u-boot commands executed on it?

Thanks.
Sudhakr

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Dear swami91,

No. A standalone application can use U-Boot services only through the exported interface (call table), which is intentionally limited.

Even if you hard-code addresses in the U-Boot image you would be violating the GPL. A non-GPL standalone application must be really what the name suggests: standalone. It gets only a very narrow, stricltly limited set of services - just enough to ger some early initialization and debugging done. All the rest, including drivers and services, mut be re-implemented in your own proprietary image.

U-Boot can start your application using the "go" command. But your non-GPL standalone program cannot call any commands from U-Boot. That would be a violation of the GPL.

Best regards,

Wolfgang Denk

DENX Software Engineering GmbH,     MD: Wolfgang Denk & Detlev Zundel
HRB 165235 Munich, Office: Kirchenstr.5, D-82194 Groebenzell, Germany
Phone: (+49)-8142-66989-10 Fax: (+49)-8142-66989-80 Email: wd at denx.de
"More software projects have gone awry for lack of calendar time than
for all other causes combined."
                         - Fred Brooks, Jr., _The Mythical Man Month_

Thanks Wolfgang.

Sorry the confusion. Actually my question is not standalone application accessing the u-boot services. Its other way around. Can the go command to execute the standalone application embedded into the u-boot? Can we call do_go() and execute the standalone application?

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Dear swami91,

You can do this, if you really think this needs to be done.

Instread of hard-cosing such stuff, it is probably way more flexible (and does not require to write any code at all) if you use U-Boot's scripting capabilities and store this command in the environment.

Best regards,

Wolfgang Denk

DENX Software Engineering GmbH,     MD: Wolfgang Denk & Detlev Zundel
HRB 165235 Munich, Office: Kirchenstr.5, D-82194 Groebenzell, Germany
Phone: (+49)-8142-66989-10 Fax: (+49)-8142-66989-80 Email: wd at denx.de
It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to paint it.

Thanks Wolfgang.

Just curious.

Why is that dynamically load proprietary library and call APIs in it from u-boot is violating GPL when Linux allows loadable modules that can be proprietary? Is'nt this same mechanism?

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Dear swami91,

Who says that binary-only modules in Linux are not violating the GPL? I think they do. And many kernel hackers have a pretty clear position about this. It has just never been taken to court yet...

But you know: IANAL...

Best regards,

Wolfgang Denk

DENX Software Engineering GmbH,     MD: Wolfgang Denk & Detlev Zundel
HRB 165235 Munich, Office: Kirchenstr.5, D-82194 Groebenzell, Germany
Phone: (+49)-8142-66989-10 Fax: (+49)-8142-66989-80 Email: wd at denx.de
If a group of N persons implements a COBOL compiler,  there  will  be
N-1 passes. Someone in the group has to be the manager. - T. Cheatham

Several of the core Linux developers disagree (and do, often) that such things are allowed.

You should be consulting a lawyer a lawyer who is familiar with the GPL, not a bunch of programmers on a mailing list.

Ian.

Is there any way of passing some data from outside of u-boot to u-boot without violating the GPL? Should the data be released as part of GPL? So if u-boot accesses some memory the content of that memory outside of its control should be released as GPL? Looks odd..

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Dear swami91,

GPL is about code, not data.

You can invent any method you like to pass data. Conventional methods used so far ar:

- import environment settings (which can include scripts, or can be used in scripts) from files loaded into RAM;
- extract information from device tree blobs;
- extract information from images;
- just load a blob of data and use your own code to process it (like to load it as firmware into some peripheral);
etc.

The possibilities are only limited by your phantasy.

Best regards,

Wolfgang Denk

DENX Software Engineering GmbH,     MD: Wolfgang Denk & Detlev Zundel
HRB 165235 Munich, Office: Kirchenstr.5, D-82194 Groebenzell, Germany
Phone: (+49)-8142-66989-10 Fax: (+49)-8142-66989-80 Email: wd at denx.de
I can type faster than I can move a  mouse,  so  I  find  menu-driven
drawing packages time consuming and frustrating.      - W. R. Stevens