Re: [boost] Try-out Adler-32 code?

From: Sebastian Redl (sebastian.redl_at_[hidden])
Date: 2008-09-02 16:29:47

Henrik Sundberg wrote:
>> On Tue, 2008-09-02 at 04:42 -0400, Daryle Walker wrote:
>>     
>>> I didn't take the implementation from any of the MD5 sources lying
>>> around, I did a "clean room" build from the RFC's description.
>>> (They're all byte-wise, while mine is bit-wise [the only one,
>>> AFAIK].)  I did use the RFC's sample code to get the values of the
>>> various constants.  Do I need to have some sort of licensing with the
>>> RFC board; aren't they free for all?
>>>       
>
> I think you made a mistake by using the sample code.
> I don't think the Boost license can accept the "derived from the RSA
> Data Security, Inc. MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm" requirement.
>
> I.e. the algorithm is completely free, but the sample code is not.
>
> No lawyer either...
>   
If I understand the mail correctly, he used the sample code to compute 
some numbers (a lookup table?), but his actual code doesn't contain 
anything of the sample code. Since these numbers are not specific to the 
sample code but characteristic to the mathematical properties of MD5, 
this doesn't make his code a derivative work of the sample code.

Sebastian