Fwd: W3C tests and source-release.

[Andy Seaborne <an...@apache.org>]

FYI: Attempting to clarify the up-coming situation on W3C tests.

When is a test "source code"?
How do other projects that have external conformance claims deal with it?

	Andy

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: W3C tests and source-release.
Date: Sat, 07 Apr 2012 18:26:25 +0100
From: Andy Seaborne <an...@apache.org>
To: legal-discuss@apache.org

A W3C test suite is licensed under the terms of:

http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Legal/2008/04-testsuite-license.html

so, as I read it, test materials are free but not open to modification.
  This makes sense because test suites are used in conformance criterion
so they are part of what constitutes the definition of the standard.

Apache Jena uses tests from W3C.  Currently, the tests are tests written
pre-2008 and so fall under the older licensing framework which uses the
software license, which is category A.  This will change when two
currently active W3C working groups produce new tests.

W3C tests are not written in a programming language - they are a set of
files together with documentation.  Jena includes code to execute the
tests - this code is not derived from any source code of W3C; it
implements the test documentation.


Example 1: data formats

The RDF tests consist of data input in one syntax, and data out, in a
simple data syntax designed to represent the outcome of tests.

Jena provides parsers that read in the data syntax, and writers that
output the test output syntax.


Example 2: query language

SPARQL is a query language for RDF.  Tests are of the form
   RDF data + a SPARQL query + results expected

Jena provides an execution engine for SPARQL queries.


Do such tests constitute "source code" (does this distinction matter?)
If so, my reading is that they are not open source (e.g. [1]).


If tests do constitute source:


My current understanding is that (please correct or question):

1/ Jena can use the tests to test.

2/ Jena can not include them in the source release.

3/ Jena can point to the location for the tests so someone in receipt of
the source release can retrieve them (the framework for running the
tests is included in the product)


Are there other similar situations in other projects with conformance
tests from other organisations?

	Andy

[1]  Item 3.
http://www.opensource.org/docs/osd