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

[Kenneth Wong <ken@xxxxxxxxx>]

Agree with all that you pointed out but I'm uncomfortable with how MySQL 
corporation is very vague in the wording, possibly deliberately so. 
This part:

"The Commercial License, which allows you to provide commercial software 
licenses to your customers or distribute MySQL-based applications 
within your organization. This is for organizations that do not want to 
release the source code for their applications as open source / free 
software; in other words they do not want to comply with the GNU 
General Public License (GPL)."

First, distributing _within_ your organization is fine if you're just 
using the GPL version. You pointed this out yourself in your reply to 
Imran. 

Second, what is a MySQL-based application? If it is an application that 
links with the library, triggering the GPL, then yes, use the 
commercial license. However, if you merely use MySQL as your database 
without linking to the libraries, then you can use the GPL version and 
avoid using the commercial license, no?

e.g. MySQL running on server listening on local ports, MegaCorp ERP 
communicates to MySQL server via ports, using LGPL MySQL client 
libraries or even their own, reverse-engineered client libraries. In 
this case, the GPL version of MySQL database server (not client 
libraries) should be legally acceptable. Morally is another matter.

> but it is their requirement. they're saying that if you're using
> their GPL version, then your app must be GPL/OSS as well.

Agreed, but only if they use it in a way that triggers the GPL. MySQL's 
wording is overly broad. 

> me too. it's the spirit of things which i am more concerned with, and
> the spirit of what they do is palatable to me.

I'm ok with the spirit of it but I dislike any more FUD about the GPL. 
People may end up pointing to MySQL's page and say, "look! You can't do 
anything commercial with the GPL!". 

The GPL isn't anti-commercial. If you want an anti-commercial license, 
create your own or use Creative Commons non-commercial (prolly a bad 
idea. CC isn't meant for software). Don't try to distort the GPL to do 
something it was never meant to do. 

-- 
Kenneth Wong
IOSN Programme Consultant, UNDP-APDIP, Malaysia
DID: +603 2091 5169 Fax: +603 2093 9740
International Open Source Network: http://www.iosn.net
UNDP Asia Pacific Development Information Programme: 
http://www.apdip.net


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