I'm not a lawyer but... as long as you use libmysqlclient you need to comply
with GPL license regardless you are loading it dynamically or not.
If your customer uses mysql library via soci your software should comply with
GPL.
Also there is an exception from that rule for an FOSS software:
http://www.mysql.com/about/legal/licensing/foss-exception/
However, it is important that SOCI licensed under Boost software license that
isn't covered by an exception. It makes it problematic as SOCI itself
should comply with GPL license requirements once you link in whatever way
libmysqlclient.
For that reason I licensed libcppdb (that is similar library to SOCI) under
dual MIT and Boost license (which are very similar) so I wouldn't have
to deal with the legal issues as MIT is covered.
My $0.02
Artyom Beilis
--------------
CppCMS - C++ Web Framework: http://cppcms.com/
CppDB - C++ SQL Connectivity: http://cppcms.com/sql/cppdb/
>________________________________
> From: Paul Baxter <[email protected]>
>To: [email protected]
>Sent: Tuesday, October 7, 2014 9:37 AM
>Subject: Re: [soci-users] MySQL connector and lib licensing
>
>
>> I'm a little confused, but from what I've read, if I use MySQL's
>> connectors/libraries, I appear to need to either GPL my application or
>> purchase a commercial license.
>
>>
>You can separate soci base and soci mysql backend by loading the
>latter one dynamically, so you don't have it at a compile time. It is
>quite painful to provide your customers with instructions on how to
>download libmysqlclient and soci mysql backend, but it kind of gets
>you through all GPL/LGPL business
><
>
>I don't think that's true unfortunately. It is true for LGPL'ed
>components but GPL'ed components 'virally' force the app with which
>they are linked to take on the GPL license.
>
>http://www.h-online.com/open/features/Connectors-controversy-and-the-LGPL-1792282.html
>
>That is the reason for the mariadb effort and previous efforts by RHEL
>etc to provide an alternate LGPL variant of the C connector.
>
>Oracle want you to either purchase a license for the server (then they
>give you commercial license for the connectors) or have you license
>the connectors to a community edition server, or allow unrestricted
>access providing you GPL your app.
>
>I've got no complaints with Oracle as that is their business model.
>I'm looking for alternatives because I very much want to use SOCI and
>MySQL or at a pinch mariaDB.
>
>What I'm not clear about is with regard to the ODBC alternative.
>
>The MySQL ODBC connector may be suitable but I don't know for sure.
>If SOCI/my app does not need to link with a mySQL library and if it
>doesn't need to include any MySQL header files then I probably would
>be OK, but I am confused as to how SOCI connects to an ODBC connector
>- I assume using a generic ODBC interface that decouples it from a
>specific vendor's ODBC connector implementation.
>
>I previously used Microsoft OLEDB as my apps interface to ODBC but
>this is becoming unsupportable (e.g. I can't get it to work on 64 bit
>win2008R2 with a 64 bit variant of my app. I'd also like to deploy to
>linux as well so a cross-platform solution is preferred).
>
>I want to take the opportunity to move into the 21st century with this
>part of our codebase and SOCI ticks the boxes. Just my confusion over
>licensing to overcome :)
>
>As Aleksander notes, my alternative would probably be to get SOCI
>working with the MariaDB alternative connector (which isn't as feature
>complete as Oracle's I believe).
>
>Thanks for everyone's help
>
>Paul
>
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