Python 1.6b1 is released!

[Guido van Rossum]

[Apologies if you see this twice.  The python.org mail handler seems
to be in trouble and I can't fix it, so I'm reposting.]

Python 1.6b1, with the new CNRI open source license, is released today
from the python.org website.  Read all about it:

    http://www.python.org/1.6/

Here's a little background on the new license (also posted on
www.pythonlabs.com):

CNRI has funded Python development for five years and held copyright,
but never placed a CNRI-specific license on the software.  In order to
clarify the licensing, BeOpen.com has been working with CNRI to
produce a new CNRI license.  The result of these discussions (which
included Eric Raymond, Bruce Perens, Richard Stallman and Python
Consortium members) has produced the CNRI Open Source License, under
which Python 1.6b1 has been released.

Bob Weiner, CTO of BeOpen.com, on the result of the licensing
discussions: "Bob Kahn [CNRI's President] worked with us to understand
the particular needs of the Open Source community and Python users.
The result is a very open license."

The new CNRI license was approved by the Python Consortium members, at
a meeting of the Python Consortium on Friday, July 21, 2000 in
Monterey, California.

Eric Raymond, President of the Open Source Initiative (OSI), reports
that OSI's Board of Directors voted to certify the new CNRI license
[modulo minor editing] as fully Open Source compliant.

Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation, is in
discussion with CNRI about the new license's compatibility with the
GPL.  We are hopeful that the remaining issues will be resolved in
favor of GPL compatibility before the release of Python 1.6 final.

We would like to thank all who graciously volunteered their time to
help make these results possible: Bob Kahn for traveling out west to
discuss these issues in person; Eric Raymond and Bruce Perens for
their useful contributions to the discussions; Bob Weiner for taking
care of the bulk of the negotiations; Richard Stallman for GNU; and
the Python Consortium representatives for making the consortium
meeting a success!

(And I would personally like to thank Tim Peters for keeping the
newsgroup informed and for significant editing of the text above.)

--Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.pythonlabs.com/~guido/)