Why so few Python jobs? (and licenses)

[Paul Boddie]

Paul Rubin <phr-n2001d at nightsong.com> wrote in message news:<7xwv25zftv.fsf at ruckus.brouhaha.com>...
> Joshua Macy <l0819m0v0smfm001 at sneakemail.com> writes:
> > From where I sit this looks like (possibly
> > unintentional) anti-Python FUD--"ooh, better not use Python...don't
> > know if its libraries are properly licensed...beware! beware!"
> 
> I don't think anything in the standard Python library is GPL'd.
> (GPL-compatible yes, GPL'd no).  Since the Python allows usage in
> closed-source programs, the GPL issues don't apply.  However, the
> discussion seemed to pertain to independently distributed add-on
> libraries, not just the standard library included with Python.

I would seriously doubt that any of the libraries distributed with
Python are GPL licenced. Indeed, options such as the readline module
remain just that: optional. So, there seems to have been an explicit
policy of avoiding "GPL by stealth".

However, there are a number of useful packages which have GPL
licences. I was asked to update the Python Web modules page which I
maintain some time ago with licence information, purely so that people
could see which modules/frameworks weren't worth evaluating because of
the licence, and there are a lot of them with GPL licences - it's
quite surprising.

> If I submitted a patch to the standard Python library, I'd expect the
> patch to be distributed under the same Python license that the library
> is distributed in, i.e. closed-source usage would be ok.  I might be
> less motivated in the first place to contribute substantial patches
> than if Python were GPL'd, since I'd in effect be working for
> closed-source vendors without getting paid, but that's a totally
> separate issue.

I don't want to start a mindless debate about the benefits or evils of
GPL licensing, but usage of the GPL and any resulting success of a
particular project is probably quite dependent on the scale or
adoption of that project, along with how unique or interesting it is.
In many cases, based on observation of people's behaviour or attitude
alone, it seems that putting a GPL licence on a project at an early
stage is like putting a "do not touch" sign on it.

Paul