4 messages in com.mysql.lists.perlRe: DBD::mysql license?| From | Sent On | Attachments |
|---|---|---|
| Dave Rolsky | 14 Jan 2004 20:20 | |
| Rudy Lippan | 20 Jan 2004 19:33 | |
| Dave Rolsky | 24 Jan 2004 19:08 | |
| Dave Rolsky | 24 Jan 2004 19:11 |
| Subject: | Re: DBD::mysql license? |
|---|---|
| From: | Rudy Lippan (rlip...@remotelinux.com) |
| Date: | 01/20/2004 07:33:08 PM |
| List: | com.mysql.lists.perl |
On Wed, 14 Jan 2004, Dave Rolsky wrote:
So I recently realized that libmysqlclient is (as of MySQL 4.0) now under the GPL, as opposed to the LGPL.
Yeah. I noticed that a few weeks ago, but I did not release that there was a change as of 4.0 -- this actually makes things easier, methinks because there is nothing in the current version of DBD::mysql that uses the new api functions.
This means that DBD::mysql, which is currently under the "same as Perl license", is in violation of the libmysqlclient license.
Based on your comment above, it would be in violation iff I devloped against 4.x :)
Moreover, it means that any code that uses DBD::mysql must be distributed under the GPL (if it is distributed at all), or the distributor would need to purchase a commercial license from MySQL.
If the distributor uses 4.x yes. Otherwise we are probably looking at a gray area?
Rudy, have you talked to the folks at MySQL about this? This is obviously a pretty big problem, since the standard in the Perl community is to license library code under the same terms as Perl itself. Since there are a number of modules on CPAN that use DBD::mysql (including my project Alzabo), this affects quite a number of developers.
Not yet. But I will bring it up with them. You make a good argument here. I was thinking about making DBD::mysql 3.0 GPL to be compatable with the client library license, but I guess you are right most perl authors will want to be able to distribute under the same terms as perl.
Also, for those who care, from what I can tell the MySQL AB folks would like to claim that something like DBD::mysqlPP (the pure Perl MySQL DBI driver) would must be GPL'd. They are claiming that simply _interacting_ over a socket with the GPL MySQL server is sufficient to become a derivative work.
This seems pretty wack, to my reading of the GPL, since I always thought that "derivative" meant incorporating actual source and/or calling out to library functions which are directly linked, as opposed to communicating over a protocol.
Intersting. Would that mean that gaim is a derivative work of AOL IM? Or that samba is a derivative work of windows?
IANAL and all that, but this issue does affect pretty much all DBD::mysql users.
Neither am I.
I know that MySQL has specifically exempted PHP applications that link to the client from the GPL, and instead allows them to be distributed under version 3.0 of the license.
It would be nice if they would provide a similar Perl exception allowing DBD::mysql to be distributed under the same terms as Perl itself.
Maybe. I will ask about it.
Rudy