4 replies to this topic

[cannuck1964]

Hi,

I am wondering a few things on the new release being based on BSD License.

There are several flavours of BSD ( see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BSD_licenses ) , which is going to be used ?

What will this mean in terms of code, will code still be required to be released with both the source code ( for binaries ) and no encryption?

Is there a reason that a move away from the GPL has been done for ver 3 ?

I have been using GPL based code for many years and just not positive of all of the changes that this will bring about in terms of requirements on code development and releases.

cheers

[Harald Ponce de Leon]

Hi Peter..

Great post! This will help clear questions relating to the transition.

cannuck1964, on 24 March 2011 - 08:07 PM, said:

There are several flavours of BSD ( see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BSD_licenses ) , which is going to be used ?

We will use the new 3-clause BSD license commonly also referred to as the MIT license. The original 4-clause BSD license is rarely used today.

cannuck1964, on 24 March 2011 - 08:07 PM, said:

What will this mean in terms of code, will code still be required to be released with both the source code ( for binaries ) and no encryption?

We will always release our work with full source code. Until our market place is live, Add-Ons uploaded to our Add-Ons site will need to contain the full source code, regardless if it is BSD or GPL licensed. Binary only Add-Ons available for free or commercially will be accepted when the market place is live. We are requiring this while we work on our infrastructure and to also help with the development of Add-Ons.

The author has the freedom to decide which license they will use for their Add-Ons and can safely continue to use the GPL license as normal.

Add-Ons made available outside of our Add-Ons site can be made available in binary form only (under the BSD license), for free or commercially, and can choose to enter our market place when it is ready.

cannuck1964, on 24 March 2011 - 08:07 PM, said:

Is there a reason that a move away from the GPL has been done for ver 3 ?

We explained why in the announcement We want to be at the "core" of e-commerce, driving innovation and competition both in the free and commercial markets.

cannuck1964, on 24 March 2011 - 08:07 PM, said:

I have been using GPL based code for many years and just not positive of all of the changes that this will bring about in terms of requirements on code development and releases.

You can continue using the GPL as normal without any issues.

People that mix GPL and BSD code and redistribute it in binary form will need to make sure they are doing so in a legally compliant manner.

Kind regards,

[dannyhenderson]

I'm excited about the switch to the BSD license. Being a more permissive license, it seems this well pave the way for more freedom for developers spread the use of the osCommerce in ways that were not permitted under the GPL.

In my understanding, there is nothing that was allowed under the GPL license that will not be allowed under the BSD license. We will not lose anything, but we will gain additional rights.

Can anyone that is familiar with the workings of both address if this is the case?

[Harald Ponce de Leon]

Hi Danny..

There is a great video overview of the GPL and BSD license at:

http://www.redhat.com/magazine/006apr05/features/licenses/

(the video link is at the bottom of the article)

Does that help better understand the difference?

Kind regards,

[dannyhenderson]

Harald Ponce de Leon, on 25 March 2011 - 08:30 PM, said:

Hi Danny..

There is a great video overview of the GPL and BSD license at:

http://www.redhat.com/magazine/006apr05/features/licenses/

(the video link is at the bottom of the article)

Does that help better understand the difference?

Kind regards,

Thanks for the link Harald,

Good video and yes that cleared it up for me. This is a good thing for osC in my opinion.