[bip] changing the Pygr license?

Titus Brown titus at caltech.edu
Fri Sep 21 10:04:59 PDT 2007


-> If you do not care about how you code is used and you do not care if
-> people don't send you
-> fixes then the BSD is the way to go. It also means you can not
-> complain if your code ends up elsewhere (like windows, mac OS) and
-> what happens to it. However,  the GPLv2 is a suitable license if you
-> do care or want fixes.
-> 
-> I don't see how choosing the GPL v2 over the BSD makes it limiting to
-> other users. If people really want to include into their distributed
-> product then you can dual-license it to them under appropriate terms
-> (again assuming you are the sole copyright owner of the code).

Hi, Bruce,

I don't like the contaminatory requirement in the GPL, which would require
that any code that uses pygr be released under the GPL.  In my opinion,
that limits the utility of pygr and will have real effects on its
adoption.

I prefer the LGPL for library code, because it answers your concerns
above -- people must contribute changes to pygr back to the community,
but they are free to USE it in whatever code they wish.

However, there is still some concern by others over whether or not the
LGPL allows for e.g. dynamic library use. (Would you be allowed to
'import pygr' in Python code without LGPLing the Python code?)  There
are strong opinions out there saying that the LGPL license is not
contaminatory in this way, and they have been written by real actual
lawyers, but they have not been tested legally.

Because of this ambiguity about the LGPL, I think the BSD license is the
simplest license to use.

Finally, it is obviously limiting to use the GPL v2 over the BSD
license, as far as companies are concerned -- I know the arguments about
free vs open source software well, and while dual-licensing is an
option, such a requirement would prevent corporate people from adopting
pygr on a trial basis.  That would be a shame.

cheers,
--titus

p.s. I release my own code under the LGPL, but that is because it is
owned by someone other than me (Caltech) who wants it that way.  My
future employer, Michigan State, has much the same requirements.
*shrug*



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