> From: zfs-discuss-boun...@opensolaris.org [mailto:zfs-discuss- > boun...@opensolaris.org] On Behalf Of Linder, Doug > > But it > sure would be nice if they spared everyone a lot of effort and annoyance and > just GPL'd ZFS.
If you just mean it should be open source, under CDDL that it's been using, then I agree whole heartedly. If you literally mean GPL, I disagree wholeheartedly. I'm trying to find a way to say this without provoking a CDDL vs GPL flame war, but it seems near impossible. Long story short, GPL is more restrictive, and grants fewer freedoms to whoever receives a copy of the product. Neither CDDL, nor GPL, nor any other license would bind Oracle any stronger. In any case, they grant rights to the world, which are irrevokable. In any case, Oracle and only Oracle is permitted to release future developments under different terms, or not released at all. They're the copyright holder, they can still do whatever they want, regardless of what rights they give you. The selection of CDDL vs GPL vs others is entirely a question of which rights they are willing to grant you. CDDL grants you more rights than GPL. In fact, that's the reason why CDDL is not GPL compatible. Because GPL is not compatible with other open-source licenses if the other licenses grant too many permissions to the recipient. Specifically: GPL prohibits the recipient from static linking with a closed-source product, or using closed-source build scripts. CDDL does not make that restriction. CDDL permits the recipient to build the CDDL code into a proprietary product, and only the original CDDL code and modifications to it must be open source and available under CDDL. All the other stuff that gets linked, and the build process itself, are permitted to be closed source. This is too permissive to be compatible with GPL. Again, none of those restrictions apply to the copyright holder. Oracle can do whatever they want, and link and modify with closed-source anything they want, regardless of what rights they grant you. _______________________________________________ zfs-discuss mailing list zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss
