I don't have an answer but the MySQL licensing has always been a bit mystical.
True, everyone interprets the license differently. It all depends on whether you evaluate the license in your favor or in their favor. Wikipedia has some more info on this matter.
An RB developer could ship a solution to a client running Mac OS X Server which has MySQL running by default. What's the requirement? The client hasn't had to download and install - nor has the developer shipped it - it was shipped as part of the OS.
If I recall right, the version that ships with MacOS X Server has a different license than MySQL 5. Besides, it's not used by the system in any way, it's just preinstalled, but that won't take away the licensing issue.
My understanding (which could be wrong) is that if MySQL was *required* for a commercial app (eg. your app runs ONLY on MySQL) then it was subject to full commercial fees however, f your app can run on something else (SQLite, Postgres etc) as well as MySQL, then that stipulation is reduced or negated.
This would mean if I develop an app using a framework that supports database abstraction (cakePHP, Ruby on Rails, …), which effectively enables you to use other db backends, the license is worthless? I seriously doubt this would be the case. I like to play it on the safe side: if your application (not the framework you're using, but the app itself) isn't GPL (or very very very similar), you have to pay the licensing fee.
Best regards Peter De Berdt _______________________________________________ Unsubscribe or switch delivery mode: <http://www.realsoftware.com/support/listmanager/> Search the archives of this list here: <http://support.realsoftware.com/listarchives/lists.html>
