[Boost-users] Re: about license

From: Jonathan Arnold (jdarnold_at_[hidden])
Date: 2004-03-25 08:53:07

A little late to this license party, but I want to make sure I
know what it means:

David Abrahams wrote:
> Marleny Rafferty <marleny_at_[hidden]> writes:
> 
>>Hi-
>>
>>I am considering using boost in my applications, but I have a question
>>about the boost license at http://www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt .  It
>>says (edited) "Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to ...
>>use [and] reproduce ... the Software".
>>
>>It also says that any derivative works must also have the same license
>>grant.
>>
>>If my application uses boost libraries unchanged, is it considered a
>>derivative work?
> 
> Yes.
> 
>>If so, does that mean that if I distribute my compiled software, I
>>must allow free of charge use and distribution?
> 
> No, the license gives an explicit exemption for compiled code

So if we use boost in our program:

1] If we sell it as a compiled program, we can retain our own license

2] If we sell it to a customer who wants the source code too, we have
to use the boost license, and thus the customer is free to give our
source code away at that point?

-- 
Jonathan Arnold     (mailto:jdarnold_at_[hidden])
Daemon Dancing in the Dark, a FreeBSD weblog:
     http://freebsd.amazingdev.com/blog/