[Phure]

Hi!

I started writing a mySQL client in Cocoa using the original mysql C API. I want it to become a competitor for FileMaker, and I hope it's going to be a huge project. I do not want to post it on SourceForge yet, as it should be a little more mature before everyone can access the source, as of now it does only connect to a database and that's about it.

This is your chance! Apply by sending me an email to blackmac@macnews.de . I'm looking for up to two Cocoa developers who'd like to help in the beginning. When released it will be offered under the BSD license (I don't like the GPL)

You should have some experience with Cocoa and mySQL (some really is enough, I'm not the überdeveloper too)

Stefan

[ 06-20-2001: Message edited by: Phure ]

[an on]

Originally posted by Phure:
<STRONG>Hi!

I started writing a mySQL client in Cocoa using the original mysql C API. I want it to become a competitor for FileMaker...

When released it will be offered under the BSD license (I don't like the GPL)

[ 06-20-2001: Message edited by: Phure ]</STRONG>

Oops. MySQL is released under GPL, so you can't use it to release a BSD project. It must be GPL, or commercial.

" MySQL uses the GPL (GNU General Public License) http://www.gnu.org, to define what you may and may not do with the software in different situations. If you feel uncomfortable with the GPL or need to embed MySQL into a commercial application you can buy a commercially licensed version from us. "
http://www.mysql.com/information/index.html

[Phure]

So be it, the project is dead. Sometimes I understand Microsoft.

I've come VERY far with just one day of work, but it died before release. I am not willing to use the GPL for a project, which is mostly based on my OWN work

But one question:
It uses a normal MySQL server which is running on any computer - unmodified. The only part of MySQL I use are the client APIs. Is this enough to be forced to release it under the GPL?

[davecom]

If you bought the commercial license you could release your version however you want.

[VValdo]

A few things--

I've come VERY far with just one day of work, but it died before release. I am not willing to use the GPL for a project, which is mostly based on my OWN work

1. If you are writing a native cocoa client for MySQL that merely connects to the GPL'd db server and doesn't use any of its code, then it would seem like you're writing your own application and you can license it however you want.

2. If you're making changes to MySQL itself, then I don't see how you can say it's mostly based on your work, as obviously the server is the result of years of many other people's work. You're just extending it.

3. What's wrong with the GPL? I mean, if you're doing this for fun and the benefit of everyone who contributes (or everyone in general), what's wrong with asking that people who benefit from the software (and redetribute it ) to also contribute back to the project? With a BSD-style license, you can expect even LESS props for your work because anyone can just repackage and sell the binary w/o offering any source, acknowlegment to you, and w/ any proprietary changes they've added.

W

[an on]

Originally posted by Phure:
<STRONG>
But one question:
It uses a normal MySQL server which is running on any computer - unmodified. The only part of MySQL I use are the client APIs. Is this enough to be forced to release it under the GPL?</STRONG>

This is a tricky question. Apple also uses GPL'd code, e.g. gcc compiler, in the Darwin project. But it doesn't distribute GPL'd code as part of Mac OS X, because Stallman has never answered whether he would consider that a violation of GPL.

In other words, if your project depends on GPL'd code (in this case MySQL) but doesn't require it, the question is open. You could rely on your relative obscurity: Apple couldn't take the chance that Stallman would win in court and force of all of Apple's OS into the GPL domain, but Stallman probably wouldn't notice you until you got large.

It sounds to me like if you abstract the database handling then you no longer _depend_ on MySQL. It's just an instance of a database that your supporting. In which case your Cocoa client is freely distributable under terms you set. (I would make a token effort to support e.g., PostgresSQL to cover the bases.)

[ryochiji]

Originally posted by an on:
<STRONG>
In other words, if your project depends on GPL'd code (in this case MySQL) but doesn't require it, the question is open. </STRONG>

Would using an app's (or OS's) API bring a program under that license? If an application used glibc, would it have to be released under the GPL? I'm no expert, but somehow I doubt it.
What Phure's doing seems to be no different, logically, since it only uses the API's and doesn't actually incorporate any of the code. At least that's my interpretation of the case (IANAL).

Having said that, Phure, what's the problem with GPL? I agree that the GPL isn't always the best license, but for a client software, I don't see anything wrong with it. What advantages would YOU get from a BSD style license?

[Phure]

I would agree to what ryochiji writes, but I'm still not sure if I can get into trouble, if I release the thing under the BSD license. I don't even use a single line of code from MySQL in my program (ok, #import &lt;mysql/mysql.h&gt;, but that's still different to the include inside the MySQL examples ) It really is my own software. MySQL runs unmodified and has to be installed seperately or can even run on a different computer.

But OK, I'll think about GPL again, you guys seem to like it - there must be a reason for that

thanks
Stefan

[Wixar]

The mySQL client library, of which the C API is a part, is governed by the LGPL, which allows you to link against the library without restrictions. So if all you do is link against the C library and don't include the server code itself, you can release your code under any license you desire.

-Peter