On Mar 21, 8:05 pm, "Paul E. G. Lynch" <[email protected]> wrote: > GPL requires that if you link with the library, you have to have a GPL- > compatible license so that the result is available under GPL. > See:http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#LinkingWithGPL > > So, if ActiveRecord is linking with the MySQL libraries, then my > understanding is that it should be GPL (or something compatible). > Just to clarify, I do not wish ActiveRecord to be GPL, and I do not > even like GPL. I am just trying to understand how they have avoided > that license issue, because it has implications for the Ruby on Rails > web application I am working on (for which we are working on a > license). >
My reading of http://www.mysql.com/about/legal/licensing/foss-exception/ is that there is an exception for linking with the mysql libraries, as long as the work produced is under one of many licenses (including the mit license, which is the license under which rails is distributed if my memory is correct). That said, activerecord doesn't link to any native libraries. If you use the mysql adapter, that pulls in the mysql gem, which does obviously load the mysql library, but if you don't use mysql then that will never happen. Don't ask me what the legal implications are! Fred > --Paul > > On Mar 21, 3:18 pm, Bryan Crossland <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > On Mon, Mar 21, 2011 at 1:48 PM, Paul E. G. Lynch > > <[email protected]>wrote: > > > > MySQL's license is GPL. ActiveRecord, which (I presume) uses MySQL's > > > client libraries, is under the MIT license. How does ActiveRecord > > > avoid being GPL? > > > I'm no attorney but I believe the answer is that ActiveRecord is not > > modifying MySQL but is a separate framework for accessing it as well as a > > number of other databases. You still need a copy of MySQL if you want to use > > the part that can access it. The FAQ for GPL/GNU explains more in the > > section on "Using programs released under the GNU licenses when writing > > other programs". > > >http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html > > > B. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby on Rails: Talk" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk?hl=en.
