[nycbug-talk] Sun Acquires MySQL

[George Rosamond]

Marc Spitzer wrote:
> On Jan 17, 2008 9:31 AM, George Rosamond <george at ceetonetechnology.com> wrote:
>> Does Sun see this as a way of getting consulting work based on open
>> source software?  So why didn't they just start hacking away at MySQL
>> more to do that . . . it's not like the GPL'd license is going to change
>> when they purchase it.
>>
> 
> MySQL is *dual* licensed, if I *buy* the commercial license version I
> am not subject to any of the gpl conditions.  If I am a mysql
> commercial user this is *very* important due to MySQL's history of
> using licensing to drive users into commercial license purchase.  The
> one I remember off the top of my head was MySQL promising that the
> client libs would remain lgpled for ever then changing the license to
> gpl.  And gpl land is getting even weirder where licensing is
> concerned.
> 
> The thing is now sun *owns* it.

I started to reply to this, beginning with I'm aware that there's two 
licenses, and that patches for the commercial version are better and 
more current. . . and then wondering how this interplays with the GPL. . .

Then I remembered, this is why I like the BSD license. . . because it's 
three sentences and I know what it means.

:)

g