Why is the extension pack seperate to VBox?

[markanderson]

I'm sure there's a perfectly good reason for this, but why is it necessary to download and install an updated extension pack every time the VBox s/ware is updated? Why not just incorporate the extension pack into the main VBox s/ware?

[mpack]

It's because the extension pack contains features which the devs don't want to make open source, the current model simplifies the identification and licensing of the open and proprietary parts.

I suggest you look at the VirtualBox page on Wikipedia. It contains a brief history of VirtualBox licensing models, including a time when the extension pack features (as they existed at the time) were part of the main code body.

[markanderson]

ok, thanks for that info. I knew there had to be a reason!