[kwlug-disc] MySQL vs. PostGres license differences?

[unsolicited]

Thanks Khalid and everyone. Didn't mean to add FUD, in my ignorance. I 
do appreciate the clarification.

Khalid Baheyeldin wrote, On 02/27/2010 10:43 AM:
> On Sat, Feb 27, 2010 at 4:55 AM, unsolicited <unsolicited at swiz.ca 
> <mailto:unsolicited at swiz.ca>> wrote:
> 
>     Was talking with a friend tonight who had looked at the MySQL and
>     Postgres licenses (I have not), and he noted that Postgres was
>     absolutely free, while MySQL was only free for internally developed
>     apps, in a commercial installation.
> 
> This is a mis-characterization, bordering on FUD.
> 
>     What is the issue, and is it an issue in practice?
> 
> PostgreSQL is BSD licensed. Therefore, companies can take it, modify it, 
> and close it off as much as they like under proprietary licenses. Much 
> like what Apple did to NetBSD for example, and more practically, what a 
> company like EnterpriseDB is (a PostgreSQL proprietary derivative).
> 
> MySQL is dual licensed. The community version is GPL, and hence it is 
> not any different from the Linux kernel, Drupal or other GPL software.
> 
> The proprietary license is how MySQL made their money: they told people 
> who want to embed MySQL in commercial applications and then sell them to 
> get a license that would not make their application GPL because of 
> linking to it.
> 
> There are some subtle details and a bit of controversy that I will cover 
> in the May meeting about MySQL.
> 
> But, the bottom line is: if you want to just use MySQL then there are no 
> issues, it is as free as they come. If you want to incorporate it in a 
> closed source product that will sell/distribute, then you should 
> investigate deeper.