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<h1>GNU Lesser General Public License</h1>

<!-- BEGIN LICENSE TEXT -->

<p>Version 2.1, February 1999</p>

<pre>
Copyright (C) 1991, 1999 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA  02110-1301  USA
Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies
of this license document, but changing it is not allowed.

[This is the first released version of the Lesser GPL.  It also counts
 as the successor of the GNU Library Public License, version 2, hence
 the version number 2.1.]
</pre>

<h2>Preamble</h2>

<p>The licenses for most software are designed to take away your
freedom to share and change it. By contrast, the GNU General
Public Licenses are intended to guarantee your freedom to share
and change free software--to make sure the software is free for
all its users.</p>

<p>This license, the Lesser General Public License, applies to
some specially designated software packages--typically
libraries--of the Free Software Foundation and other authors who
decide to use it. You can use it too, but we suggest you first
think carefully about whether this license or the ordinary
General Public License is the better strategy to use in any
particular case, based on the explanations below.</p>

<p>When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom of
use, not price. Our General Public Licenses are designed to make
sure that you have the freedom to distribute copies of free
software (and charge for this service if you wish); that you
receive source code or can get it if you want it; that you can
change the software and use pieces of it in new free programs;
and that you are informed that you can do these things.</p>

<p>To protect your rights, we need to make restrictions that
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<p>For example, if you distribute copies of the library, whether
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they know their rights.</p>

<p>We protect your rights with a two-step method: (1) we
copyright the library, and (2) we offer you this license, which
gives you legal permission to copy, distribute and/or modify the
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<p>To protect each distributor, we want to make it very clear
that there is no warranty for the free library. Also, if the
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<p>Finally, software patents pose a constant threat to the
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Therefore, we insist that any patent license obtained for a
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of use specified in this license.</p>

<p>Most GNU software, including some libraries, is covered by the
ordinary GNU General Public License. This license, the GNU Lesser
General Public License, applies to certain designated libraries,
and is quite different from the ordinary General Public License.
We use this license for certain libraries in order to permit
linking those libraries into non-free programs.</p>

<p>When a program is linked with a library, whether statically or
using a shared library, the combination of the two is legally
speaking a combined work, a derivative of the original library.
The ordinary General Public License therefore permits such
linking only if the entire combination fits its criteria of
freedom. The Lesser General Public License permits more lax
criteria for linking other code with the library.</p>

<p>We call this license the "Lesser" General Public License
because it does Less to protect the user's freedom than the
ordinary General Public License. It also provides other free
software developers Less of an advantage over competing non-free
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General Public License for many libraries. However, the Lesser
license provides advantages in certain special circumstances.</p>

<p>For example, on rare occasions, there may be a special need to
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is that a free library does the same job as widely used non-free
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Public License.</p>

<p>In other cases, permission to use a particular library in
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GNU C Library in non-free programs enables many more people to
use the whole GNU operating system, as well as its variant, the
GNU/Linux operating system.</p>

<p>Although the Lesser General Public License is Less protective
of the users' freedom, it does ensure that the user of a program
that is linked with the Library has the freedom and the
wherewithal to run that program using a modified version of the
Library.</p>

<p>The precise terms and conditions for copying, distribution and
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<h2>Terms and conditions for copying, distribution and modification</h2>

<p><b>0.</b> This License Agreement applies to any software
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<p>Activities other than copying, distribution and modification
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act of running a program using the Library is not restricted, and
output from such a program is covered only if its contents
constitute a work based on the Library (independent of the use of
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depends on what the Library does and what the program that uses
the Library does.</p>

<p><b>1.</b> You may copy and distribute verbatim copies of the
Library's complete source code as you receive it, in any medium,
provided that you conspicuously and appropriately publish on each
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<p>You may charge a fee for the physical act of transferring a
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<p><b>2.</b> You may modify your copy or copies of the Library or
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<p>If any portion of this section is held invalid or
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intended to apply in other circumstances.</p>

<p>It is not the purpose of this section to induce you to
infringe any patents or other property right claims or to contest
validity of any such claims; this section has the sole purpose of
protecting the integrity of the free software distribution system
which is implemented by public license practices. Many people
have made generous contributions to the wide range of software
distributed through that system in reliance on consistent
application of that system; it is up to the author/donor to
decide if he or she is willing to distribute software through any
other system and a licensee cannot impose that choice.</p>

<p>This section is intended to make thoroughly clear what is
believed to be a consequence of the rest of this License.</p>

<p><b>12.</b> If the distribution and/or use of the Library is
restricted in certain countries either by patents or by
copyrighted interfaces, the original copyright holder who places
the Library under this License may add an explicit geographical
distribution limitation excluding those countries, so that
distribution is permitted only in or among countries not thus
excluded. In such case, this License incorporates the limitation
as if written in the body of this License.</p>

<p><b>13.</b> The Free Software Foundation may publish revised
and/or new versions of the Lesser General Public License from
time to time. Such new versions will be similar in spirit to the
present version, but may differ in detail to address new problems
or concerns.</p>

<p>Each version is given a distinguishing version number. If the
Library specifies a version number of this License which applies
to it and "any later version", you have the option of following
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version published by the Free Software Foundation. If the Library
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version ever published by the Free Software Foundation.</p>

<p><b>14.</b> If you wish to incorporate parts of the Library
into other free programs whose distribution conditions are
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Software Foundation, write to the Free Software Foundation; we
sometimes make exceptions for this. Our decision will be guided
by the two goals of preserving the free status of all derivatives
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software generally.</p>

<p><b>NO WARRANTY</b></p>

<p><b>15.</b> BECAUSE THE LIBRARY IS LICENSED FREE OF CHARGE,
THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE LIBRARY, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY
APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE
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IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED,
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ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION.</p>

<p><b>16.</b> IN NO EVENT UNLESS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW OR
AGREED TO IN WRITING WILL ANY COPYRIGHT HOLDER, OR ANY OTHER
PARTY WHO MAY MODIFY AND/OR REDISTRIBUTE THE LIBRARY AS PERMITTED
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<h2>END OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS</h2>

<h2>How to Apply These Terms to Your New Libraries</h2>

<p>If you develop a new library, and you want it to be of the
greatest possible use to the public, we recommend making it free
software that everyone can redistribute and change. You can do so
by permitting redistribution under these terms (or,
alternatively, under the terms of the ordinary General Public
License).</p>

<p>To apply these terms, attach the following notices to the
library. It is safest to attach them to the start of each source
file to most effectively convey the exclusion of warranty; and
each file should have at least the "copyright" line and a pointer
to where the full notice is found.</p>

<pre>
&lt;one line to give the library's name and an idea of what it does.&gt;
Copyright (C) &lt;year&gt; &lt;name of author&gt;

This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
Lesser General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA  02110-1301  USA
</pre>

<p>Also add information on how to contact you by electronic and
paper mail.</p>

<p>You should also get your employer (if you work as a
programmer) or your school, if any, to sign a "copyright
disclaimer" for the library, if necessary. Here is a sample;
alter the names:</p>

<pre>
Yoyodyne, Inc., hereby disclaims all copyright interest in
the library `Frob' (a library for tweaking knobs) written
by James Random Hacker.

&lt;signature of Ty Coon&gt;, 1 April 1990
Ty Coon, President of Vice
</pre>

<p>That's all there is to it!</p>

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