"scott.marlowe" <scott.marlowe@ihs.com> writes:
> Now, if you don't mind using the ODBC connector, you're scott free. but
> you WILL be bound by the GPL, and the GPL (not MySQL's interpretation,
> just the GPL in general) being applied to connect libs seriously limits
> your ability to distribute code, since you'd have to GPL your own code if
> you distributed it outside your own private organization.
Note that in the case in question it's not entirely clear that the GPL is at
all a problem. The original poster was talking about a vertical market
application delivered for to a single user. That user is probably not
interested in reselling the software, so any restrictions on them reselling it
wouldn't actually bother them.
This is in fact precisely the type of consultant market that the GPL
envisions. And it's more common than one might think. Cygnus had various
clients for gcc/binutils/gdb targets who weren't concerned about what
restrictions the source came with as long as they got the software they
needed. The GPL is after all a heck of a lot less restrictive than the typical
EULA that accompanies binary software products.
--
greg
