gnulib-tool: Stop doing license notice replacements.

* gnulib-tool: Don't document --more-symlinks and --more-hardlinks any
more.
(do_copyrights): Remove variable.
(func_import): Don't perform license updates on imported files any more.
* pygnulib/GLInfo.py: Don't document --more-symlinks any more.
* doc/gnulib-intro.texi (Copyright): Document the new situation.
* doc/gnulib.texi (Module description): Likewise.
* NEWS: Mention the change.

1 files changed, 19 insertions, 12 deletions

diff --git a/doc/gnulib-intro.texi b/doc/gnulib-intro.texi
index 5890223fad..b88139a2b1 100644
--- a/doc/gnulib-intro.texi
+++ b/doc/gnulib-intro.texi
@@ -455,15 +455,22 @@ proofreading the patch.
 @section Copyright
 
 Most modules are under the GPL@.  Some, mostly modules which can
-reasonably be used in libraries, are under LGPL@.  The source files
-always say "GPL", but the real license specification is in the module
-description file.  If the module description file says "GPL", it means
-"GPLv3+" (GPLv3 or newer, at the licensee's choice); if it says "LGPL",
-it means "LGPLv3+" (LGPLv3 or newer, at the licensee's choice).
+reasonably be used in libraries, are under LGPL@.  Few modules are
+under other licenses, such as LGPLv2+, unlimited, or public domain.
 
-More precisely, the license specification in the module description
-file applies to the files in @file{lib/} and @file{build-aux/}.  Different
-licenses apply to files in special directories:
+If the module description file says "GPL", it means "GPLv3+" (GPLv3
+or newer, at the licensee's choice); if it says "LGPL", it means
+"LGPLv3+" (LGPLv3 or newer, at the licensee's choice).
+
+The source files, more precisely the files in @file{lib/} and
+@file{build-aux/}, are under a license compatible with the module's
+license.  Most often, they are under the same license.  But files can be
+shared among several modules, and in these cases it can happen that a
+source file is under a weaker license than noted in the module
+description --- namely under the weakest license among the licenses of
+the modules that contain the file.
+
+Different licenses apply to files in special directories:
 
 @table @file
 @item modules/
@@ -506,16 +513,16 @@ copy of the license is at @url{https://www.gnu.org/licenses/fdl-1.3.en.html}.
 
 If you want to use some Gnulib modules under LGPL, you can do so by
 passing the option @samp{--lgpl} to @code{gnulib-tool}.  This will
-replace the GPL header with an LGPL header while copying the source
-files to your package.  Similarly, if you want some Gnulib modules
+ensure that all imported modules can be used under the LGPL license.
+Similarly, if you want some Gnulib modules
 under LGPLv2+ (Lesser GPL version 2.1 or newer), you can do so by
 passing the option @samp{--lgpl=2} to @code{gnulib-tool}.
 
 Keep in mind that when you submit patches to files in Gnulib, you should
 license them under a compatible license.  This means that sometimes the
 contribution will have to be LGPL, if the original file is available
-under LGPL@.  You can find out about it by looking for a "License: LGPL"
-information in the corresponding module description.
+under LGPL@.  You can find out about it by looking at the license header
+of the file.
 
 @node Steady Development
 @section Steady Development