Re: [stellation-res] Stellation support for MySQL on Linux

[Dave Shields <shields@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Sat, Nov 02, 2002 at 04:08:20PM -0900, Wynne Crisman wrote:
> I too am interested in using MySQL for a project I am preparing for and have
> noticed that the Driver is GPL.  If I were to write my own JDBC driver that
> communicated with the Database via IPC (sockets) would that require the
> MySQL folks to provide permission?  It would seem to me, based on my
> understanding of GPL, that communication with a separate process running GPL
> code does not in and of its self require that non-GPL process be released as
> GPL.  Please correct me if I am wrong so I don't go wasting my time.
> 

As IBM employees, we are *not* allowed to interpret a license (as I learned the day
after Jikes went open-source when I offered some interpretations on Slashdot). That is
the responsibility of you and your lawyers.

Our responsibility is to decide whether to accept user code submissions
using our best judgment on the applicable licensing issues. I think it fair to say
our approach will be conservative, as we want to allow the widest possible use of our
code, particularly by other projects in Eclipse, and that we will be *very* wary of
anything involving the GPL.

Though you are free to decide what to work on, given that there is so much to be done
without worrying about license issues, I wonder about the appropriateness of undertaking
work based on concern with licensing issues, and writing a JDBC driver is not an easy task.

dave

----
Dave Shields, IBM Research, shields@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.