Hey,
So here's a topic for discussion. The libhtdig project I've been
working on is basically repackaging htdig into a shared library.
I will be finishing a set of PHP wrappers for libhtdig shortly.
This raises a couple questions:
1. The FSF states that the newest PHP 4.x license is incompatible
with the GPL. It's basically a BSD-style license with an advertising
clause, which the FSF doesn't like (the non-advertising BSD License is
kosher with the GPL).
This would mean that calling libhtdig would be problematic from PHP
code. This is further complicated by the interpretive nature of PHP... a
'function call' in a PHP page is not a function call per-se. It becomes a
function call during the interpretation of the page, after the page (or
the php.ini) loads the needed module (xxx.so).
2. The original intent of the HtDig project was to write a stand-alone
package to do web-site searching... and the GPL is appropriate for
this.
With the branching of mifluz and libhtdig an LGPL license seems
more appropriate. Using the LGPL license would encourage the use of
libhtdig & the mifluz library by the widest possible set of developers,
hopefully enhancing the project's quality and feature set.
PHP 3.x, OpenOffice, Mozilla, and other projects have chosen a
Dual-License strategy. This could be an option here. Either dual license
the entire project, or re license the inner portions of the project under
the LGPL (leaving the major components of the individual binaries under
the GPL).
This approach would necessitate some care in bringing in other GPLed code
into HtDig in the future. If possible the original copyright holder would
need to be contacted to re-license the specific code under the LGPL.
3. Many Open Source projects have a kind of steering committe that is
empowered to make these kinds of decisions.... glibc, gcc, FreeBSD,
X11, etc.
Idea: Form an official steering committee consisting of the
developers that have CVS commit access. This committee would become the
representatives of the contributing developers as a whole. The committee
would then have the power to make re-licensing decisions for the
"The ht://Dig Group" as listed in each source code file.
Note that the committee could have policies in place that respect the
thoughts of the developers at large and make decisions
accordingly. Having a steering committee doesn't imply draconian powers.
Forming the steering committee may involve a few steps, I will ask
our Legal Department how this could be done. The initial feeling is that
its pretty easy to do... post notice on the website, etc.
Please forward any other legal questions to me and I'll try to get
answers. We do have a relationship with an IP lawyer familiar with the
GPL if it comes to that.
RightNow Tech would also consider covering any reasonable costs associated
with any legal work required to form the steering committtee, if
any. If HtDig wanted to become an official entity (non-profit etc.) there
would be costs, if not it may be as simple as posting the notice on the
web-site.
Thoughts? I'll be away from e-mail this weekend so I'll respond to and
questions directed to me on monday.
Thanks and give libhtdig_api.h a look!
--
Neal Richter
Knowledgebase Developer
RightNow Technologies, Inc.
Customer Service for Every Web Site
_______________________________________________
htdig-dev mailing list
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/htdig-dev
