Re: libtgdb or libgdb

[Kevin Buettner <kevinb@redhat.com>]

On Jul 17,  4:49pm, Bob Rossi wrote:

> Well, I am not sure about the license. To me, thats not really a big
> deal. It will defiantly be under the GPL, however, I don't know what to
> do with the copyright.

The license is a big deal.  The license you choose will likely
determine how widely your library is used or even if it is used at
all.

> Is there any advantage to making it GPL and keeping the copyright or 
> making it LGPL and giving the copyright to the FSF?

If you make the licesne GPL, but retain the copyright, you (and only
you) have the option of relicensing the software under other terms.
These terms might include payment of a fee to you in exchange for a
license which allows the library to be linked against proprietary
software.

If you assign the copyright to the FSF and also persuade the FSF to
license your library under the LGPL, then it will be possible for
non-free software to link against your library.  However, given that
your library would provide a way for non-free software to use the
facilities available in GDB (which is GPL'd software in the GNU
project), the FSF might not be willing to accept your library.

> Would either of those scenarios effect companies?

Yes.  Using the LGPL would allow proprietary software to be linked
against your library.  Using the GPL would disallow this unless you
provide alternate licensing terms for proprietary software.

Kevin