MG Software now available for download

[jamakr4]

MG has now publicly released their software for the MG4

Open-Source

www.mgmotor.de

I think this happened because of their software lawsuit.

 

[dave99]

be interesting to see whats in there, you have to contact them for the source. I suspect it will be just the changes they have made to any open source software, I'd be surprised if there is anything meaty in there.

 

[ajs]

It looks like they're providing source only for the already published open source components, and none of the source for components they've developed themselves.

 

[leonkernan]

Has anyone received a copy of what they’re providing?
I’m not in the UK or EU so I’m not sure they’d let me have it.
The UK site has a list of components and there are a couple I’m very keen to see.

https://www.mg.co.uk/opensource

 

[jamakr4]

Has anyone received a copy of what they’re providing?
I’m not in the UK or EU so I’m not sure they’d let me have it.
The UK site has a list of components and there are a couple I’m very keen to see.

https://www.mg.co.uk/opensource

Not yet

 

[Roger001]

Has anyone received a copy of what they’re providing?
I’m not in the UK or EU so I’m not sure they’d let me have it.
The UK site has a list of components and there are a couple I’m very keen to see.

https://www.mg.co.uk/opensource

I've requested access to the code, but have not yet heard anything back.

It is clear that it is going to get more complicated for MG as the public info will be raising additional questions.

- Questions will be raised about the age of some of the software, but 'security' issues are limited by the fact that MG has never made the MG4 that open. Without software interfaces (such as the one Octopus Energy would like to have) issues with older code can not easily be exploited by a third party.

- They are using a few products that are licensed under the GPL terms. These are interesting as all derivative works have to be then released, so if you used GPL code in a product, where the GPL code gets incorporated into the wider code, all the code then becomes GPL licensed.

 

[dave99]

I've requested access to the code, but have not yet heard anything back.

It is clear that it is going to get more complicated for MG as the public info will be raising additional questions.

- Questions will be raised about the age of some of the software, but 'security' issues are limited by the fact that MG has never made the MG4 that open. Without software interfaces (such as the one Octopus Energy would like to have) issues with older code can not easily be exploited by a third party.

- They are using a few products that are licensed under the GPL terms. These are interesting as all derivative works have to be then released, so if you used GPL code in a product, where the GPL code gets incorporated into the wider code, all the code then becomes GPL licensed.

I find licencing very confusing - but wouldn't they make sure GPL software was used as is in a library? Doesn't that get you around releasing the source?

 

[Roger001]

I find licencing very confusing - but wouldn't they make sure GPL software was used as is in a library? Doesn't that get you around releasing the source?

Now that is where things all start to get very complex, as some languages will directly embed a library within the code (static library), while others will connect to an independent library at runtime (dynamic library). Just about all languages also have a way to access libraries (if coded) as independent code modules - such as all the APIs that an OS will provide as part of the platform it provides. These are often provided under the LGPL licence in the open source world to allow reuse without the issues.

The GPL licence is clear regarding static libraries, but dynamic libraries are a can of worms that will likely only be cleared up by court battles deciding what a derived work is. The basic rule is do not use GPL based solutions unless you fully understand the future issues it may cause.

 

[siteguru]

I highly doubt any software in a car (which cant be guaranteed to have an Internet connection) will use dynamic libraries.

 

[Roger001]

I highly doubt any software in a car (which cant be guaranteed to have an Internet connection) will use dynamic libraries.

"Dynamic libraries" in this context just means code/resources held in an independent file that is loaded alongside the main application, at the time the application is started, code that is part of the application or environment will link/connect the main code with the code/resources held in the referenced files. If you are a Microsoft Windows user, you will likely have come across DLL files, which provide this type of feature in the Windows environment. It does not mean that the libraries are retrieved from another location, such as across an internet link.

 

[jamakr4]

I find licencing very confusing - but wouldn't they make sure GPL software was used as is in a library? Doesn't that get you around releasing the source?

MG has a big problem with licenses: https://jun.legal/en/tag/mg4/