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dermotti
April 15th, 2005, 08:11 PM
It a program is GPL, does that mean i can use it in my company for free? That seem s to be the case when im reading the license but i want to be sure.
dataw0lf
April 15th, 2005, 08:14 PM
It a program is GPL, does that mean i can use it in my company for free? That seem s to be the case when im reading the license but i want to be sure.

You can certainly use it, amongst other things (modifying source, etc).
jdodson
April 15th, 2005, 08:24 PM
It a program is GPL, does that mean i can use it in my company for free? That seem s to be the case when im reading the license but i want to be sure.

i would agree with your interpretation of the GPL.
DJ_Max
April 15th, 2005, 08:25 PM
GPL has a few quirks, mainly with the way it allows the program to be distributed, you may find the BSD more open in commercial use.
az
April 15th, 2005, 08:29 PM
I would strongly recommend you read the GPL.

One of the arguments against Open source is that the licencing is too complicated and that could lead to legal problems. That is untrue for two reasons:

1- all you have to do is be sure that the software is GPL licenced and you will have not problem.
2- Proprietairy licencing is much more complicated and extends beyond just buying the product. this is why an audit by microsoft can cost a company a lot of money.

A good guide in what is equivalent to the GPL is to read the Debain free licence guidelines. It explains what is compatible with the GPL and what is not. Basically, just because a program is distributed with the source does not make it free/libre

The GPL is more involved than just saying that your source code is available. It mans that the source code of any modified version of the code will also be free. Free in this case is free/libre and not neccessarily free as in "no cost"

The preamble to the GPL is quite clear.
az
April 15th, 2005, 08:34 PM
GPL has a few quirks, mainly with the way it allows the program to be distributed, you may find the BSD more open in commercial use.

What do you mean by this?
Leif
April 15th, 2005, 08:37 PM
What do you mean by this?

I think he means that if you distribute a binary that builds on GPL, you need to release your code under the GPL as well, and provide your source. With a BSD license you have no such restrictions.
dermotti
April 15th, 2005, 08:43 PM
http://sourceforge.net/projects/filezilla/

Filezilla is program in question. They have a win32 binary i want to use. It's license is GPL...
poofyhairguy
April 15th, 2005, 09:18 PM
http://sourceforge.net/projects/filezilla/

Filezilla is program in question. They have a win32 binary i want to use. It's license is GPL...


Where you would get in trouble with this is if you were to take filezilla's code, put it in some other software product and not release that products code under the GPL.

I might be wrong, but I don't think just using the program will ever get you in trouble with open source programs.
dataw0lf
April 15th, 2005, 09:38 PM
Where you would get in trouble with this is if you were to take filezilla's code, put it in some other software product and not release that products code under the GPL.
I might be wrong, but I don't think just using the program will ever get you in trouble with open source programs.

Depends on the license. 'open source' doesn't always mean GPL (although some use them interchangeably, to my great annoyance).
poofyhairguy
April 15th, 2005, 09:39 PM
Depends on the license. 'open source' doesn't always mean GPL (although some use them interchangeably, to my great annoyance).

I stand corrected.
gil-galad
April 15th, 2005, 10:23 PM
http://sourceforge.net/projects/filezilla/

Filezilla is program in question. They have a win32 binary i want to use. It's license is GPL...

Theres no restrictions on using it. However, If you give it to someone else you must include the source code or make sure they know where to get it.