Which License Should I Use?

[mojosam]

I've been watching the flame war about licenses with some interest.
There are many motivations for those who participate in this sector, so
disagreements over licenses reflect those agendas.

I don't have an agenda, at least not right now.  I do plan on writing a
few programs.

These will be tools I need for firmware testing.  They will be
relatively simple things like tools for breaking down data by its
structure for easy viewing, sending commands/macros over serial ports,
etc.  Similar things exist, but they don't do everything I need.  These
will also be excellent learning opportunities for me, since I'm still
pretty shaky on Python.

How do I decide on a license?  Are there any web sites that summarize
the pros and cons?  I guess I don't care too much about how other
people use it.  These things won't be comprehensive enough or have
broad enough appeal that somebody will slap a new coat of paint on them
and try to sell them.  I guess I don't care if somebody incorporates
them into something bigger.  If somebody were to add features to them,
it would be nice to get the code and keep the derivative work as open
source, but I don't think that matters all that much to me.  If
somebody can add value and find a way of making money at it, I don't
think I'd be too upset.

I will be doing the bulk of the coding on my own time, because I need
to be able to take these tools with me when I change employers.
However, I'm sure that in the course of using these tools, I will need
to spend time on the job debugging or tweaking them.  I do not want my
current employer to have any claim on my code in any way.  Usually if
you program on company time, that makes what you do a "work for hire".
I can't contaminate my code like that.  Does that mean the GPL is the
strongest defense in this situation?

I'm open to suggestions as to which licenses to consider.  However,
please try to keep the conversation to the decision process or what
sounds like it is best for this purpose.  Let's keep the broader issue
of which license will bring about the fall of Western Civilization on
the other thread.

Ron Britton

(The gibberish on the next line really is my email address.)
nk67v8o02
at
sneakemail.com