This is a fuzzy issue. There are questions regarding redistribution. Any distribution requires that you either comply with the terms of the GPL or that you get a licence.
Additionally, MySQL AB have recently changed the licence terms of their libraries - now absolutely everything that the fine and funky folk at MySQL AB ship falls under the GPL. Previously, many libraries appeared under the LGPL, allowing you to link against them without needing to use a GPL-compatible licence. Hope this helps! I went through a very similar issue recently myself. Regards, Chris On Fri, 2004-01-16 at 02:09, Sam Vilain wrote: > On Thu, 15 Jan 2004 08:44, Computer Mail wrote; > > > If I create a program that just queries data from a > > MySQL table and processes it...am I required to > > release that program under the GPL? > > No. The below; > > 0. This License applies to any program or other work which contains > a notice placed by the copyright holder saying it may be > distributed under the terms of this General Public License. > The "Program", below, refers to any such program or work, and a > "work based on the Program" means either the Program or any > derivative work under copyright law: that is to say, a work > containing the Program or a portion of it, either verbatim or > with modifications and/or translated into another language. > > RMS has made it quite clear that a "work based on the program" means > that you're linking the programs together, as with `ld' (or a *very* > similar logical equivalent). Bundling GNU products with commercial > software is openly encouraged. > > The output is unrestricted; > > Activities other than copying, distribution and modification are > not covered by this License; they are outside its scope. The act > of running the Program is not restricted, and the output from the > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ > Program is covered only if its contents constitute a work based on > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ > the Program (independent of having been made by running the > ^^^^^^^^^^^ > Program). Whether that is true depends on what the Program does. > > This clause does not catch the output from a MySQL server. > > On the other hand, if you were to link the MySQL binary directly into > your program - avoiding the SQL server - then you would need to > purchase a commercial license from MySQL AB to avoid the requirement > for the derived work to be covered by the GPL. > -- > Sam Vilain, [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than > to put on the cloak of nonviolence to cover impotence. > -- Mahatma Gandhi > -- MySQL General Mailing List For list archives: http://lists.mysql.com/mysql To unsubscribe: http://lists.mysql.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]
