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No GPL

I do not condone the use of the GPL license. The LGPL, used for libraries, is more reasonable.

The GPL license is incompatible with all other licenses, both commercial and open-source.

Although the GPL appears to have been intended to protect against the abuses of corporate software giants like Microsoft, these are not the victims of the GPL. Instead, it is the small, and often altruistic, software developer who suffers.

Although a lot of good software has been released under GPL, I think that many developers who have done so have failed to seriously consider the true ramifications of doing so.

Copyleft Virus

Under the GPL, an entire software package must be distributed under GPL if any part of it is GPLed. All derivative works must be GPLed. If you distribute a software package under GPL and accept any fixes or enhancements by others, you jepardize your right to use your own code in any software you distribute under any other license. So much for putting food on the table. If you use someone elses GPLed code in your software, your software becomes irrevokably GPLed. Technically, this would still be the case even if you removed all of the code which was originally subject to the GPL license.

Distribution Problems

The GPL requires you to make the source code availible in any media you make object code availible. This can be an excessive burden, particularly for a small organization which has enough to worry about without the problems of duplication and fullfilment. Making source code availible on the internet should be sufficient to satisfy ones obligations, although I would strongly encourage distributing source with the object where feasable. RMS stated that such changes would be made to the next version of GPL but a year later, no improved version has been released.

Antagonistic to legitimate commercial interests

Ways around GPL

Links

http://www.ssc.com/linux/Eric/cathedral-paper.html http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=98/10/13/1423253&mode=thread&threshold=0

This file is maintained by Mark Whitis (whitis@freelabs.com).

Senior Engineer for hire
Software Development - Electronic Design - Embedded Systems - Device Drivers - System/Network Administration and Security - Motor Control, RobotCNC - Linux/Un*x - 25+ years experience
The author of these pages is looking for a new gig.
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Engineers and electronic hobbyists: The new Open Symbol Project is creating open schematic symbols and PCB footprints for a variety of different CAD packages.

Mark Whitis's Website Home Page Linux Book: Linux Programming Unleashed My Resume Genealogical Data Contact Info Security About

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