GPL License Question
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Do you suppose it would be possible to create a mostly proprietary operating system built around the Linux kernel, but with all other components being closed source, commercially developed?
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
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Do you suppose it would be possible to create a mostly proprietary operating system built around the Linux kernel, but with all other components being closed source, commercially developed?
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
That is common practice with devices like TV set top boxes. Many use the Linux kernel and some required OS specific programs (often BusyBox) from the open source side and implement the main function in closed source applications. The source of the kernel and all code based on open source must be published according to their licenses. Each program written from scratch by you must not be published. A special case is linking open source libraries. These must have a GPL linking exception or are published under a license allowing such linkage like LGPL. Assuming you want to use the Linux kernel but implement nearly all other code yourself, I think it is possible. But it would be a lot of work and requires checking the licenses of the used open source components.
