Re: [ossig] CA open-sources Ingres database - News & Technology -CNETAsia

[Imran William Smith <iwsmith@xxxxxxxx>]

For a good discussion of this, see
http://blog.megacity.org/archives/001657.php

It all boils down to the GPL - if you are breaking the GPL
by distributing proprietary software linked to MySQL AB's GPL
version of MySQL, you are also breaking the MySQL license.

If you are not contravening GPL, MySQL cannot get you
to pay anything.  Although, as the blog above states, the cheeky
sales guys might ask you to anyway.

So basically, to understand MySQL licensing requirements,
read up on the GPL.

MySQL licensing info is here:
http://www.mysql.com/products/licensing/
and here:
http://www.mysql.com/products/licensing/opensource-license.html

Imran

Kenneth Wong wrote:

>On Wednesday 26 May 2004 16:06, SianLun Lau wrote:
>  
>
>>so all the while when people from those webhosting companies offer
>>mysql, they should pay for the license?
>>    
>>
>
>Nope. You can use GPL software for commercial use. Read up on the 
>specifics of the GPL. 
>
>Webhosting services do not have to use a proprietary license to offer 
>mysql for hosting, just as they do not need to pay for a license for 
>any other GPL software they use, such as Linux, GCC or any others.
>
>When people license MySQL under a proprietary license, it is because 
>they are tightly integrating it into one of their products in such a 
>way that would force their entire product to be GPL if they used the 
>GPL version of MySQL. For instance, if your ERP product tightly linked 
>into the MySQL libraries for database functions, then you'd probably 
>want the proprietary MySQL, rather than the GPL version.
>
>  
>


-- 
Imran William Smith,
Open Source R&D, MIMOS Berhad, Malaysia




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