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[Stefan Behnel]

Chris Angelico, 19.01.2013 03:00:
> On Sat, Jan 19, 2013 at 12:25 PM, Kushal Kumaran wrote:
>> Chris Angelico writes:
>>
>>> On Sat, Jan 19, 2013 at 7:24 AM, Ben Finney wrote:
>>>> * MySQL's development has suffered under Sun, and become virtually
>>>>   moribund under Oracle. They operate as a closed shop, occasionally
>>>>   tossing GPL-licensed releases over the wall, with very little input
>>>>   accepted from the community.
>>>
>>> I don't know whether it's a legit concern or pure FUD, but it's been
>>> suggested that since the MySQL license is GPL and not LGPL, any code
>>> that links against it is forced to be GPL too. I'm not sure how far
>>> that goes (eg if you're using it from Python, at what point does it
>>> stop being "code linked to GPL code" and start being a discrete
>>> system), and IANAL, but I prefer to work with systems with more
>>> freedom in their licensing. PostgreSQL is under a BSD-like license, so
>>> it can be used without issues.
>>
>> Oracle have a page about this:
>> http://www.mysql.com/about/legal/licensing/foss-exception/
> 
> Thanks, I was working from memory and wasn't sure. So yes, it's a
> fully legit issue, and it basically means you can't use MySQL with any
> proprietary code.

Well, you can, just like with any proprietary software that you link
against GPL code. As long as you don't ship your code to someone else who
doesn't have access to your source code, you're free to do whatever you
like with it. That's usually the case when you deploy your software on your
own servers, for example. Only if you distribute your software to other
people, the GPL enforces that you give them your source code under the same
license.

Stefan