On 11/27/2013 8:53 AM, Dirk Eddelbuettel wrote: > That the GPL is viral is still a feature and not a bug.
Hi Dirk, I do not understand how this statement can be made so broadly, independently of the project goals and idiosyncratic aspects of the project and user community. If a project gets fewer users and fewer code contributions by choosing the GPL, it is hard to see that as a good thing. Some projects seem to get obvious benefit from the GPL (e.g., the Linux kernel). For many projects, however, any net benefit is far from obvious. John Hunter (creater of the very widely used Matplotlib plotting library) is quite persuasive on this point: http://nipy.sourceforge.net/nipy/stable/faq/johns_bsd_pitch.html As for header files, as far as I know Stallman and the FSF have not changed their view that header file inclusion does not produce a derivative work: http://lkml.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/0301.1/0362.html In the end, those who create the code should choose the license that best achieves their goals. The appropriate choice may well depend on the community of users that is targeted. I understand RPy to target the Python scientific programming community. Alan Isaac ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rapidly troubleshoot problems before they affect your business. Most IT organizations don't have a clear picture of how application performance affects their revenue. With AppDynamics, you get 100% visibility into your Java,.NET, & PHP application. Start your 15-day FREE TRIAL of AppDynamics Pro! http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=84349351&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk _______________________________________________ rpy-list mailing list rpy-list@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/rpy-list
