Fernando Cacciola <fernando.cacciola@gmail.com> wrote:
Steve M. Robbins wrote:
On Sun, Mar 22, 2009 at 05:42:47PM -0000, Paul A. Bristow wrote:
Yes, there are certainly lots of examples of external dependencies. I understand that there are dependencies, but are those libraries being used in items that are being *sold*?
Lots of people are no doubt using Boost.Python, but are they selling products using it?
The proposed GTL sounds to me as though it is a prime candidate for inclusion in actual 'Sat-Navy' products.
Does this make any difference?
Not in my view. Why do you ask the question? Is there some reason you think it might matter whether the Boost libraries appear in products being sold?
The potential problem Paul is asking us to consider is not the boost library but the dependent non-boost library, such as GMP in the case of GTL.
AFAICT, in the case of LPGPled libs such as GMP and MPFR, there is no problem in using them in commercial products, even closed source applications (provided a copy of the license is distributed with said product), so I don't think there should be any restriction on allowing Boost libs to depend on LPGL libs.
The LGPL requires you to construct your code in such a way that you can relink with a new library. It also requires you to allow users to reverse engineer the code for debugging. Commercial users of Boost may not like those terms. Cheers, Walter Landry wlandry@caltech.edu