Mac OS X : Is it possible to ship SDL libararies as part of Application Bundle

Hi all,
Rather than have the user install the latest SDL shared objects on
Mac OS X, I’d like to be able to ship them as part of the Mac OS X
Application Bundle aka *.app . Is it ok to do so, are there any pitfalls
I should watch out for? I’d like to bundle SDL, SDL_Mixer and SDL_Image.

This also avoids the possibility that a new version of the SDL shared
objects stop the orginal game from working.

Thanks,

Dominique.

The official frameworks we distribute (and Xcode projects) are already
setup to be bundled. Bundle to your heart’s content.

-EricOn 10/19/07, Dominique Louis wrote:

Hi all,
Rather than have the user install the latest SDL shared objects on
Mac OS X, I’d like to be able to ship them as part of the Mac OS X
Application Bundle aka *.app . Is it ok to do so, are there any pitfalls
I should watch out for? I’d like to bundle SDL, SDL_Mixer and SDL_Image.

This also avoids the possibility that a new version of the SDL shared
objects stop the orginal game from working.

Thanks,

Dominique.


SDL mailing list
SDL at lists.libsdl.org
http://lists.libsdl.org/listinfo.cgi/sdl-libsdl.org

IANAL but technically it should be possible. The big concern I would
have with any binary distribution is the licensing. Since SDL is GPL’s
if you hard link your commercial or binary application with SDL it’s a
no-no since you would have to GPL your code as well. I’ve read you
can get around that by soft-linking to the libraries this might be
what you’re trying.

Anyone know more about this? It is interesting, since SDL is very
portable it could be used by commercial vendors for games.

-JoshOn 10/19/07, Dominique Louis wrote:

Hi all,
Rather than have the user install the latest SDL shared objects on
Mac OS X, I’d like to be able to ship them as part of the Mac OS X
Application Bundle aka *.app . Is it ok to do so, are there any pitfalls
I should watch out for? I’d like to bundle SDL, SDL_Mixer and SDL_Image.

This also avoids the possibility that a new version of the SDL shared
objects stop the orginal game from working.

Thanks,

Dominique.


SDL mailing list
SDL at lists.libsdl.org
http://lists.libsdl.org/listinfo.cgi/sdl-libsdl.org

Again, I repeat myself. The frameworks we distribute are ready to be
bundled. This is intentional.

To be correct and pedantic, SDL is LGPL, not GPL. Thus this does not
necessarily mean you need to GPL your own code if you use SDL.

The terms ‘hard-link’ and ‘soft-link’ aren’t something I’ve seen
formally defined or used in any legal document, and informally, I
don’t really understand what you mean either, so it is not helpful to
discuss these terms wr.t. legal documents.

Finally, placing the SDL framework in the app bundle as opposed to
forcing an install to /Library/Frameworks (or /usr/lib or wherever)
doesn’t change anything w.r.t. the license. You’re still dynamically
linked either way. It’s just a different location on the file system.

-EricOn 10/19/07, Joshua Shriver wrote:

IANAL but technically it should be possible. The big concern I would
have with any binary distribution is the licensing. Since SDL is GPL’s
if you hard link your commercial or binary application with SDL it’s a
no-no since you would have to GPL your code as well. I’ve read you
can get around that by soft-linking to the libraries this might be
what you’re trying.

Anyone know more about this? It is interesting, since SDL is very
portable it could be used by commercial vendors for games.

-Josh

On 10/19/07, Dominique Louis wrote:

Hi all,
Rather than have the user install the latest SDL shared objects on
Mac OS X, I’d like to be able to ship them as part of the Mac OS X
Application Bundle aka *.app . Is it ok to do so, are there any pitfalls
I should watch out for? I’d like to bundle SDL, SDL_Mixer and SDL_Image.

This also avoids the possibility that a new version of the SDL shared
objects stop the orginal game from working.

Thanks,

Dominique.


SDL mailing list
SDL at lists.libsdl.org
http://lists.libsdl.org/listinfo.cgi/sdl-libsdl.org


SDL mailing list
SDL at lists.libsdl.org
http://lists.libsdl.org/listinfo.cgi/sdl-libsdl.org

Ok sorry, didnt meant to confuse or upset anyone. Wasn’t sure of the
initial question and I know in the past it’s been something I’ve been
concerned about.

I need to read up on the lgpl license more :slight_smile:

Have a good day and weekend,
JoshOn 10/19/07, E. Wing wrote:

Again, I repeat myself. The frameworks we distribute are ready to be
bundled. This is intentional.

To be correct and pedantic, SDL is LGPL, not GPL. Thus this does not
necessarily mean you need to GPL your own code if you use SDL.

The terms ‘hard-link’ and ‘soft-link’ aren’t something I’ve seen
formally defined or used in any legal document, and informally, I
don’t really understand what you mean either, so it is not helpful to
discuss these terms wr.t. legal documents.

Finally, placing the SDL framework in the app bundle as opposed to
forcing an install to /Library/Frameworks (or /usr/lib or wherever)
doesn’t change anything w.r.t. the license. You’re still dynamically
linked either way. It’s just a different location on the file system.

-Eric

On 10/19/07, Joshua Shriver <@Joshua_Shriver> wrote:

IANAL but technically it should be possible. The big concern I would
have with any binary distribution is the licensing. Since SDL is GPL’s
if you hard link your commercial or binary application with SDL it’s a
no-no since you would have to GPL your code as well. I’ve read you
can get around that by soft-linking to the libraries this might be
what you’re trying.

Anyone know more about this? It is interesting, since SDL is very
portable it could be used by commercial vendors for games.

-Josh

On 10/19/07, Dominique Louis wrote:

Hi all,
Rather than have the user install the latest SDL shared objects on
Mac OS X, I’d like to be able to ship them as part of the Mac OS X
Application Bundle aka *.app . Is it ok to do so, are there any pitfalls
I should watch out for? I’d like to bundle SDL, SDL_Mixer and SDL_Image.

This also avoids the possibility that a new version of the SDL shared
objects stop the orginal game from working.

Thanks,

Dominique.


SDL mailing list
SDL at lists.libsdl.org
http://lists.libsdl.org/listinfo.cgi/sdl-libsdl.org


SDL mailing list
SDL at lists.libsdl.org
http://lists.libsdl.org/listinfo.cgi/sdl-libsdl.org


SDL mailing list
SDL at lists.libsdl.org
http://lists.libsdl.org/listinfo.cgi/sdl-libsdl.org