Richard Stallman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > Based on the situation now, is the use of dot format > a temptation to use non-free software, or isn't it?
I'd say "no". Graphviz itself has been free since 2004 but I understand you may be worried about the Graphviz community. To test this, I just now surveyed all the generators and translators for dot format listed in <http://www.graphviz.org/Resources.php>. Here's what I found: SchemaSpy and Linguine Maps are LGPLed. DotML, S-Dot, and ZvonGraphotron use a BSD-like license. Sql2Dot is public domain. SQL Fairy uses the disjunction of the GPL and the Perl Artistic License. PostgreSQL AutoDoc, Sqlpp, and the gprof filters have no copyright notice or license at all. I suspect the authors just haven't gotten around to saying that these programs are free software. So, from this (admittedly limited) survey, it appears that dot format is encouraging free software, not non-free. There wasn't a single demonstrable non-free program in the bunch. PS. In a different catgory, I found Yaccviso <http://www.lo-res.org/~aaron/yaccviso/> which lets you visualize Yacc grammars, something that would be nice for Bison. It generates both dot and VCG formats. It is GPLed.
