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xom-interest - Re: [XOM-interest] More on LGPL

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Subject: XOM API for Processing XML with Java

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  • From: Steve Loughran <steve.loughran AT gmail.com>
  • To: Paul King <king AT asert.com.au>
  • Cc: xom-interest <xom-interest AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [XOM-interest] More on LGPL
  • Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2005 12:30:47 +0000

On Wed, 09 Feb 2005 21:33:50 +1000, Paul King <king AT asert.com.au> wrote:
>
> I have an interesting poll.
>
> Does anyone know of a major java vendor who bundles LGPL software with
> their major products? IBM? Oracle? Sun? BEA?
>
> Any Java Application Server? Portals? Mobile Phone Vendors?
> Any IDE? Any Java Database? Any Application Vendors, e.g. Bug tracking
> systems, Wikis, CRMs.
>
> It would be interesting to see what others have done in this area?
> [Apart from all using Apache, Mozilla, IBM, etc community licenses.]

When HP open sourced SmartFrog (pointer: http://smartfrog.org/ ) , the
choice for LGPL was because nobody wanted to do a new license.
Whenever a vendor tries to do a new OSS license (c.f IBM, Apple, Sun,
Mozilla), their corporate lawyers keep trying to retain control of
things (as good lawyers should do), and the effect is to introduce a
new license with controversy and integration uncertainty. Picking
something well known means you cay "LGPL" when you are asked what
license you use, and nobody needs to discuss details.


>
> The vendors (and their customers) that we can't list are the ones who
> may be reluctant about using XOM.
>
> Cheers, Paul.
>
> Elliotte Harold wrote:
>
> > John Reynold's java.net blog pointed me to this post from the FSF about
> > the LGPL and Java that clarifies, hopefully for the last time, that
> > merely importing, invoking, or inheriting from an LGPL class does not
> > infect code with the LGPL.

The ASF are still in discourse with the FSF about subtle details of
linkage, no fixed date on the green light to LGPL, but soon, we hope:
http://wiki.apache.org/jakarta/Using_20LGPL_27d_20code

I know that Kaffe is linked to in Ant's kaffe adapters via reflection;
I dont know what others there are. but once LGPL gets the green light
from ASF board, I'd expect to see a lot of LGPL stuff getting linked
in -I have a Xom binding to Axis I could move in, Hibernate could be
everywhere, etc etc. Once Apache start using it broadly, its going to
trickle out into the rest of the Java world as and when core apache
tools depend on it or integrate it tightly. It also means the life
will be much easier for Apache projects, as we can use all the fun
LGPL stuff. NB: not allowed to cut from LGPL and paste into ASF
licensed code; that is one thing you cannot do without going [L]GPL
yourself.


On Mon, 07 Feb 2005 07:01:20 -0500, Elliotte Harold
<elharo AT metalab.unc.edu> wrote:
>
> XOM is free. Period. The only thing you're not free to do with it is
> restrict other people's freedom. The claims otherwise I often hear
> remind me of the religious nut cases who argue that their freedom of
> religion is imperiled because they aren't allowed to burn witches at the
> stale, as their religion requires them to do.

We haven't burned anybody in our street for 450 years:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotham%2C_Bristol

-steve




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