Technically they have not removed your freedom to use the product.
Well, actually they have, using the product means linking to the client libs.
They have just asked that you freely give back to the community in the same way they have.
No they havn't, this is not a matter of me wanting to hijack sapdb and produce my own database, effectivly stealing their work.
This is a case of me wanting to use the sapdb database for the task it was designed to do.
The GPL and LGPL are not about infecting other peoples software, it's about keeping a project Free so it doesn't get hijacked.
That's why there is a LGPL, so non-free software can *use* the liberary, but still keep the liberary Free.
In the few cases where someone has chosen the GPL rather than the LGPL it has been to reward Free software and hinder non-Free software (see GNU readline) or as in this case to get money for the non-Free license.
If it is too cumbersome the easiest out is to grab sources for the LGPL clients that exist and maintain them.
Yes, you are quite right and that's exactly what I intend to do.
Oh well, when all is said and done paying for a non-free license to the client libs when the latest LGPL'ed ones stop working isn't that much of a problem, but I really detest having to pay mysql for anything.
-- Regards Flemming Frandsen - http://dion.swamp.dk PartyTicket.Net co founder & Yet Another Perl Hacker
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