1) Is any John Franks code really in this file?
Possibly, maybe probably. I don't remember the details (9 years is a
long time!) but almost certainly any code or algorithms were
specifically for the "inside" or "outside" routines.
2) Did John provide a separate license for PostgreSQL to license it under
the BSD license?
Not explicitly that I can recall.
This code seems to have been inserted by Tom Lockhart on 1997-07-29
(geo_ops.c rev 1.13). Tom, any info on the copyright status?
None, beyond the info you already resurrected. I vaguely recall that I
did take the LJ letter as an invitation to reuse algorithms. I would
guess that I had possible licensing conflicts in mind so would have
tried to avoid them, but it would probably be best for someone to
evaluate that from the current code bases. I may have preserved the
Franks info for attribution of concepts to a specific person and version.
My (also vague) recollection is that the original Postgres algorithm was
just broken. I would suggest looking at the code, contacting J. Franks
if there are questions or a need for license clarification or
authorization, and finding an alternative algorithm if necessary.
hth
- Tom
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