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Does this get me closer to being able to play Quake on my iPhone?

ThatPlayer 5y ago
It looks like there is a port of Quake onto iOS. You could technically run it right now. Last I checked though, GPL license isn't compatible with Apple's App Store license. But this is 10 years old so maybe things have changed. https://github.com/tomkidd/Quake-iOS https://github.com/tomkidd/Quake-iOS https://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/more-about-the-app-store-gpl-enforcement https://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/more-about-the-app-store...
- iainmerrick 5y ago
  Huh, I'm confused by this. If I understand correctly: - GPL does not allow any restrictions on usage or distribution; - App Store restricts installation to 5 devices. So they're clearly incompatible. I was confused about why Apple would be the one to pull the app, as it's the GPL that's being broken, but I guess from Apple's perspective they just don't want the hassle of anyone claiming they're breaking the GPL. But can't it all be resolved just by having the App Store version of the app contain a link to the open source? Edit to add: is this a GPL vs LGPL thing, where the GPL build of an app would include some Apple code and they don't want to have that claimed by the GPL?
  - commoner 5y ago
    If you own the copyright to the app's source code, you can release it to anyone under any license you want. This means a GPL-licensed app can be released by the developer under a proprietary license that is compatible with and exclusive to the App Store. It's a form of dual licensing, and the app's source code is still free because it is still publicly available under a FOSS license. Things get trickier with multiple contributors. The app store submitter would need to get permission from all contributors to dual license the code for the App Store, and the easiest way to do this is to require each contributor to sign a CLA granting permission for this before accepting their pull request. If the submitter can't secure dual licensing permission from all contributors, the code needs to be refactored to remove the parts without the necessary permission. If this isn't possible, then the app can't be published in the App Store. The first conflict between the App Store terms of service and the GPL concerned the GNU Go app, which was removed from the App Store in 2010. The FSF explained the conflicting provisions: https://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/more-about-the-app-store-gpl-enforcement https://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/more-about-the-app-store...

It looks like there is a port of Quake onto iOS. You could technically run it right now. Last I checked though, GPL license isn't compatible with Apple's App Store license. But this is 10 years old so maybe things have changed. https://github.com/tomkidd/Quake-iOS https://github.com/tomkidd/Quake-iOS https://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/more-about-the-app-store-gpl-enforcement https://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/more-about-the-app-store...

iainmerrick 5y ago
Huh, I'm confused by this. If I understand correctly: - GPL does not allow any restrictions on usage or distribution; - App Store restricts installation to 5 devices. So they're clearly incompatible. I was confused about why Apple would be the one to pull the app, as it's the GPL that's being broken, but I guess from Apple's perspective they just don't want the hassle of anyone claiming they're breaking the GPL. But can't it all be resolved just by having the App Store version of the app contain a link to the open source? Edit to add: is this a GPL vs LGPL thing, where the GPL build of an app would include some Apple code and they don't want to have that claimed by the GPL?
- commoner 5y ago
  If you own the copyright to the app's source code, you can release it to anyone under any license you want. This means a GPL-licensed app can be released by the developer under a proprietary license that is compatible with and exclusive to the App Store. It's a form of dual licensing, and the app's source code is still free because it is still publicly available under a FOSS license. Things get trickier with multiple contributors. The app store submitter would need to get permission from all contributors to dual license the code for the App Store, and the easiest way to do this is to require each contributor to sign a CLA granting permission for this before accepting their pull request. If the submitter can't secure dual licensing permission from all contributors, the code needs to be refactored to remove the parts without the necessary permission. If this isn't possible, then the app can't be published in the App Store. The first conflict between the App Store terms of service and the GPL concerned the GNU Go app, which was removed from the App Store in 2010. The FSF explained the conflicting provisions: https://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/more-about-the-app-store-gpl-enforcement https://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/more-about-the-app-store...