>When
>I do a project for some company it means that I basically "sell" the
> software to them - not as the software per se, but as hours of
> development. Therefor I can't use MySQL legally without bying a license.
That's not true. Maybe you have misunderstood something? Or don't your
customers accept GPL?
The problem is not the DB server, it's the connection library. It too is GPL
and therefor can't be bundled with a non GPL software.
The only problem I see in using MySQL here is that if your program is
really dependent on MySQL, e.g. not able to use any other RDBMS instead,
MySQL can claim that your customers right to use MySQL is void if your
customer sells their MySQL-dependent software and don't use the GPL
license for it. If your customer only uses your code in-hoUse, there is
no problem. If it's not dependent on MySQL, only using it as one of several
working backends, it's cool even if they sell it.
"Dependant" in terms of GPL is when the GPL code is linked to the program.
It's really hard to define a clean line here. Since python supports MySQL, so
if I use python in a non GPL product and therefor make use of the mysql
driver, linked to python ......... you get the idea.
There are other licenses, such as the license for mxODBC that stops you
from doing consulting with that software unless your customer has bought
a license, but GPL is no problem in combination with paid work.
No, it isn't, but it is a problem with including it in a non GPL product.
And that's basically good that way, otherwise MS would copy a lot of good
stuff into Windows.....
I'm no lawyer, and not a representative of MySQL AB, I'm just explaining
my own understanding of GPL, so don't take my word for gospel, but I never
heard anyone who knows GPL claim that it's somehow incompatible with
consulting. For more info on GPL see:
http://www.fsf.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#GPLRequireSourcePostedPublic
http://www.fsf.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#DoesTheGPLAllowMoney
They haven't changed the license for MySQL, have they? It's still GPL?
No, it's still GPL.
In the end I could simply buy licenses from MySQL, but what for if there is a
BSD style product I like better anyways ??
UC
···
On Saturday 31 May 2003 05:17 pm, Magnus Lyckå wrote:
At 10:27 2003-05-30 -0700, Uwe C. Schroeder wrote:
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