> The driver will be released as GPL with commercial licenses available
> from Command Prompt, Inc.
>
Don't get me wrong, I am a huge proponent of the GPL, for applications.
I'm all about free -- as in freedom.
Sorry, but an interface library released as GPL is the very embodiment
people's worst fear about open source being risky.
There are, IMHO, basically three types of self contained code packages:
Applications, libraries, and interfaces.
Applications which stand alone should be GPL one can use them freely. The
code is protected.
Libraries which are linked (either dynamically or statically) should be
GPL because using them requires explicit acceptance of the licensing terms
by the developer.
Interfaces, like yours, typically follow 3rd party standards and can be
used in an application without prior knowledge of the developer. As such,
an end user can put themselves in GPL violation without even knowing under
the current definitions of "derivitive work" as put forth by RMS.
That's not freedom, that's a legal minefield. If you are serious about
"free, as in freedom" software, then you should licence it as LGPL.
If I could send a message to the ODBC developers, I would say don't do
this. It is nothing more than using, what I think is, a very bad behavior
of a specific application of the GPL to limit freedom and exploit your
work and generate revenue that you will never see.
If you want to write something that everyone can use, ignore this offer
and continue on with an LGPL version.
