People who develop with MySQL and/or other GPL based code
People who develop with MySQL and/or other GPL based code
- Subject: People who develop with MySQL and/or other GPL based code
- From: Dave Garaffa <email@hidden>
- Date: Mon, 22 Dec 2003 20:32:16 -0500
I've got a question ... all be it not exactly (or at all) a programming
related one but more of a legal one...
MySQL is GPL correct?
My understanding is that any/all programs that uses GPL code (even the
client lib as wrapped by the cocoa sourceforge project) are REQUIRED to
make their source code (ALL OF IT) available as well... unless you make
other arrangements with the developers of said GPL code. (pay for
individual licenses for each distribution of the code you)
If so then anyone selling cocoa based software (that uses either the
cocoa-sourceforge mysql stuff or even rolling their own wrapper and
just including the mysql lib) and not also providing the source are 'at
risk' of some potential legal trouble at some point in time (when
someone at MySQL decides to do something about it)...
Is *my* understanding of this correct?
I hope someone can help me out with this stuff... I'd like to start a
project but I see no point in getting seriously involved with using
MySQL as a starting point only to find out I'm not going to be able to
(maybe someday) sell it or make is shareware even without being forced
to give out the source code for the entire application. I see quite a
few Commercial / Shareware apps on VersionTracker that
use/support/manage MySQL data and I know they aren't giving away the
source to their apps... How are they doing it? Are they just 'running
the risk' of not being noticed? Many of the said apps also provide
demo-downloads (limited in some way) and from my understanding of the
GPL even that isn't allowed without making the source available (or
buying licenses for each copy distributed)...
Thanks for getting this far in my run-on-question! ;)
If anyone has insight they can provide and/or a place to go to get more
info about this I'd be grateful.
Dave
_______________________________________________
cocoa-dev mailing list | email@hidden
Help/Unsubscribe/Archives:
http://www.lists.apple.com/mailman/listinfo/cocoa-dev
Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored.