At 1/15/26 08:53 AM, xeiavica wrote:Macromedia back in the day, made a C (also applicable to C++) API to extend the IDE to use with JSFL, a shared library (.dll on windows) for flash mx 2004 and flash 8 (For flash 8, it would be the "extending flash" PDF). Adobe kept it around for flash CS3-6, I think it's still around today. But what is the legality of public projects that use it? That's what confuses me greatly.

I'm seeing conflicted reports you can't distribute the header file (mm_jsapi.h), or that you can't license your code in a GPL like license. Yet I can't find a source that says you're restricted on source distribution. So which is it? Would adobe take legal action for using a header file they (along with macromedia) publish to the public in the macromedia/adobe documentation you can easily get online through the internet archive?

At 1/15/26 01:04 PM, detergent1 wrote:

At 1/15/26 08:53 AM, xeiavica wrote:Macromedia back in the day, made a C (also applicable to C++) API to extend the IDE to use with JSFL, a shared library (.dll on windows) for flash mx 2004 and flash 8 (For flash 8, it would be the "extending flash" PDF). Adobe kept it around for flash CS3-6, I think it's still around today. But what is the legality of public projects that use it? That's what confuses me greatly.

I'm seeing conflicted reports you can't distribute the header file (mm_jsapi.h), or that you can't license your code in a GPL like license. Yet I can't find a source that says you're restricted on source distribution. So which is it? Would adobe take legal action for using a header file they (along with macromedia) publish to the public in the macromedia/adobe documentation you can easily get online through the internet archive?

headers and APIs are copyrighted, but their copyright cannot be enforced anymore in USA due to fair use, see landmark case https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_LLC_v._Oracle_America,_Inc.
regarding GPL, if you produce a DLL from GPL code, its license's viral nature doesn't spread across the barrier of dynamic function loading (NOT dynamic linking), which would be the mechanism the Flash IDE would use to extract behavior from the DLL in order to realize the extension. I have not read the GPL texts in a long time, so I'm unable to pinpoint this precisely. but I believe that yes, an extension for Flash IDE delivered as GPL'd DLL is legal
software licensing is really messy, your best bet to obtain answers is to analyze historical landmark cases, and read opinions of several lawyers over those landmark cases. there are several rules that are in effect in theory, that have been effectively disproven in court

At 1/15/26 01:12 PM, xeiavica wrote:

At 1/15/26 01:04 PM, detergent1 wrote:

At 1/15/26 08:53 AM, xeiavica wrote:Macromedia back in the day, made a C (also applicable to C++) API to extend the IDE to use with JSFL, a shared library (.dll on windows) for flash mx 2004 and flash 8 (For flash 8, it would be the "extending flash" PDF). Adobe kept it around for flash CS3-6, I think it's still around today. But what is the legality of public projects that use it? That's what confuses me greatly.

I'm seeing conflicted reports you can't distribute the header file (mm_jsapi.h), or that you can't license your code in a GPL like license. Yet I can't find a source that says you're restricted on source distribution. So which is it? Would adobe take legal action for using a header file they (along with macromedia) publish to the public in the macromedia/adobe documentation you can easily get online through the internet archive?

headers and APIs are copyrighted, but their copyright cannot be enforced anymore in USA due to fair use, see landmark case https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_LLC_v._Oracle_America,_Inc.
regarding GPL, if you produce a DLL from GPL code, its license's viral nature doesn't spread across the barrier of dynamic function loading (NOT dynamic linking), which would be the mechanism the Flash IDE would use to extract behavior from the DLL in order to realize the extension. I have not read the GPL texts in a long time, so I'm unable to pinpoint this precisely. but I believe that yes, an extension for Flash IDE delivered as GPL'd DLL is legal
software licensing is really messy, your best bet to obtain answers is to analyze historical landmark cases, and read opinions of several lawyers over those landmark cases. there are several rules that are in effect in theory, that have been effectively disproven in court

How are the header files still under copyright, as in adobe owns them, but they can't do squat about someone distributing it with the source code?