scribbles of the perennial debugger…
Posts tagged Licensing
GPL 4 Java
Nov 9th
I am not sure whether this report from CRN is accurate but given that this is true, I get some feeling of FUD. What happens to my code? Will it be copylefted as well? Do I have to pay for commercial license to use Java on my closed-source programs? Will the mere using of Sun’s JRE be akin to using LGPL? What?
What will this lead to? A .Net surge in the commercial space? No way!!! My colleague is rooting for RoR. Heck no too…
FUD or no FUD, 3 cheers for open sourcing Java!
Source: Slashdot
BSD License vs GNU GPL
Aug 31st
Repost from Randomized!
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The classic battle rages on. If you are an enterprise, you are probably better protected by the GPL. If you are an enterprising individual who loves to code just for the sake of coding, BSD is for you.
In the real commercial world, it happens differently:
In the GPL customers will not face licensing lock-in. In BSD, there is a threat of having a licensing lock-in.
If Organization X needs to share closed-source, internally developed software with a partner, Org X can choose to (1) proprietary lock-in license to partner, or (2) open source license to partner.
To distribute through option (1), BSD license can be used, but GPL inputs can never be used because of the Copyleft.
To distribute through option (2), either BSD or GPL can be used.
Both licenses enables open source development and is endorsed by the OSI. Then why use two different licenses if the ultimate goal is to distribute free and open source software? Often, the agenda for using the BSD license is to create a potential license-lock in since this license can be more readily converted to a lock-in license.
Makes sense? GPL = true FOSS. BSD = FOSS->commercial.
As for the ToyBox, I chose a BSD-variant which is the Common Public License for this particular reason, hehehe.