>> I don't think (a) is a property of the EPL license itself. But
>> it is certainly exactly how the Eclipse Foundation vets code
>> that will be posted to the official eclipse cvs.
>>
> I'm not trying to be critical as such - its just that Rong found code
> that we would be prevented from using if we converted the license to EPL.
yeah, this is not easy. (though as I said, it's not just converting
to EPL, it's subjecting to the full eclipse processes)
> In the end, I don't think I am really convinced by the need to have a
> special license for the Eclipse project; there are clearly some license
> that the code can't use, but it seems unrealistic to me to try and make
> it one. But prepared to be shown the light....
well, I look at it this way: eclipse is a reliable proposition for everyone:
no surprises. I doubt that we (kestral) could use the openEHR java kernel
corporately
because of GPL issues. I do not have the skills or the time to find out exactly
what I can and cannot do without inadvertantly subjecting my corporate stuff to
GPL. But if I use eclipse code (not just EPL), I know that appropriately skilled
and highly motivated people have done this for me.
So for a project to "become" eclipse, and to actually mean putting the code
up on eclipse, it has to jump these hurdles. Why do this?
pros:
- will increase target market of the code substantially. however, while in
tools
market, the corporate benefits of eclipse in this regard are well
recognised,
I don't think there's the same brand penetration in the healthcare sector
regarding
Eclipse sanitising your code for you
- will allow a full engagement between multiple communities, in particular,
the
community that is growing around eclipse
cons:
- have to jump the hurdle. It can be quite high and painful. The more mature
the
project, the more painful, (and possibly the pros are reduced here too)
If I was you, I wouldn't be making the change right now either. I think that the
correlation of forces will change in the future, and then I will ask you to
re-evaluate.
In the meantime, we are pursuing alternate pathways that will enable community
collaboration with more flexibility about how the price is paid and when. There
should be public announcements soon.
Grahame
