Separate license for subpacakges - is it possible/can we make it possible?
Lets take util-linux
package which has few licenses listed, while each pertains to different subpackage:
https://gitlab.alpinelinux.org/alpine/aports/-/blob/master/main/util-linux/APKBUILD#L10
While util-linux
README.licensing
states:
The project util-linux doesn't use the same license for all of the code.
There is code under:
* GPL-3.0-or-later - GNU General Public License version 3, or any later version
* GPL-2.0-or-later - GNU General Public License version 2, or any later version
* GPL-2.0 - GNU General Public License version 2
* LGPL-2.1-or-later - GNU Lesser General Public License 2.1 or any later version
* BSD-3-Clause - BSD 3-Clause "New" or "Revised" License
* BSD-4-Clause-UC - BSD 4-Clause University of California-Specific
* Public Domain
Is there a way to define separate licenses for subpackages that I couldn't find?
Why it is an issue:
With last years https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/05/12/executive-order-on-improving-the-nations-cybersecurity/ there is more and more efforts for generating SBoMs.
All tools report imprecise information for the subpackages of util-linux, while it would be possible to implement features in tools that generate SBoMs, it would mean that there would be multiple places where mappings would have to be maintained manually. I believe it makes more sense to make distinction between subpackage licenses in the build recipes and built packages.