Comments from ftpmaster regarding spdep Debian package

[Roger Bivand]

On Thu, 31 Jul 2014, Andreas Tille wrote:

> Hi Roger,
>
> I'm very astonished that this thread which started with two very simple
> questions exagerated to such a time consuming discussion.

Most questions are not as simple as they appear, think ontologies. Mine 
differs from yours. You haven't toød me why you need to package spdep 
other than that another R package depends on (enhances?) spdep. I guessed 
stargazer, but you ignored my question. I need to know why this matters.

> Since I read
> a lot of frustration in you mail and no chance to clarify things easily
> I just repeat the main point: inst/README says:

A frequently given reply for Debian/Ubuntu users of rgdal (R interface to 
GDAL) is to avoid any and all pre-packaged Debian/Ubuntu packages and 
similar dependency traps. The Debian/Ubuntu packaging of central GIS 
software is so poor and tardy that it is a major problem for users. 
Consequently I view any such packaging as unnecessary in principle and 
practice, and that users should install from source on Linux/Unix, 
especially CRAN packages and R itself, and crucial external dependencies.

>
> File: src/soigraph.c is copyright (c) 2001 by Nicholas Lewin-Koh and
> is subject to the licence at the foot of this file, but also contains
> subroutines TwoCirclesxx and SubVec, which are adapted for R and Double
> precision coordinates by Nicholas Lewin-Koh, from Computational Geometry
> in C, Joseph O.Rourke, Cambridge University Press (1998). Copyright for
> those subroutines remains his.
>
> Can you please confirm that the license is really GPLv2+?
>
>  [ ] yes
>  [ ] no

No idea, IANAL, I assume that the original author Nicholas Lewin-Koh 
checked in 2001 when the code came into being that the license given was 
adequate. My interpretation of the text in the file from which the 
functions were taken is that it permits use and redistribution provided 
that the copyright to J. O'Rourke is acknowledged, which it is.

Best wishes,

Roger

>
> Sorry for the obviously failed attempt to explain what we would like to
> know from you.
>
> Kind regards
>
>      Andreas.
>
>

-- 
Roger Bivand
Department of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics,
Helleveien 30, N-5045 Bergen, Norway.
voice: +47 55 95 93 55; fax +47 55 95 91 00
e-mail: Roger.Bivand at nhh.no