Re: [Boost-users] Apple iPod uses Boost

Subject: Re: [Boost-users] Apple iPod uses Boost
From: jedlund_at_[hidden]
Date: 2008-10-18 17:51:25

> I haven't seen the Boost License being used outside of Boost, although
> certainly the license can be applied to any open source software.  Since
> the Boost license is similar to the BSD style license, it is likely that
> an open source project would choose one of the more popular BSD or MIT
> style licenses.

The Boost Software License (BSL1.0) has been used by a number of other
projects.  The POCO project is one user:
http://pocoproject.org/poco/info/license.html

SourceForge has 17 projects listed as using the BSL1.0:
http://sourceforge.net/softwaremap/trove_list.php?form_cat=678
(of which 2 are Boost related).

I'm sure that this is not a comprehensive list.

Before/during the creation of the BSL1.0, other opensource licenses were
examined and found unsatisfactory. Some of this discussion is at
http://www.boost.org/users/license.html , more can also be found at
http://www.crystalclearsoftware.com/cgi-bin/boost_wiki/wiki.pl?Boost_License
.

If you agree with the reasons for the creation of BSL1.0, then it makes
sense to use it for your projects and to prefer software that uses it.

Particular things I like about the BSL1.0:

1) The single form of the BSL1.0 license means that I don't have to worry
about all the minor modifications that seem to appear when people edit BSD
style licenses for their project.

2) I don't have to edit the license (and worry about possible legal
ramifications) or include it in every file. The short form is enough:
//          Copyright Joe Coder 2004 - 2006.
// Distributed under the Boost Software License, Version 1.0.
//    (See accompanying file LICENSE_1_0.txt or copy at
//          http://www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt)