DBD::mysql license?

So I recently realized that libmysqlclient is (as of MySQL 4.0) now under
the GPL, as opposed to the LGPL.

This means that DBD::mysql, which is currently under the "same as Perl
license", is in violation of the libmysqlclient license.

Moreover, it means that any code that uses DBD::mysql must be distributed
under the GPL (if it is distributed at all), or the distributor would need
to purchase a commercial license from MySQL.

Rudy, have you talked to the folks at MySQL about this? This is obviously
a pretty big problem, since the standard in the Perl community is to
license library code under the same terms as Perl itself. Since there are
a number of modules on CPAN that use DBD::mysql (including my project
Alzabo), this affects quite a number of developers.

Also, for those who care, from what I can tell the MySQL AB folks would
like to claim that something like DBD::mysqlPP (the pure Perl MySQL DBI
driver) would must be GPL'd. They are claiming that simply _interacting_
over a socket with the GPL MySQL server is sufficient to become a
derivative work.

This seems pretty wack, to my reading of the GPL, since I always thought
that "derivative" meant incorporating actual source and/or calling out to
library functions which are directly linked, as opposed to communicating
over a protocol.

IANAL and all that, but this issue does affect pretty much all DBD::mysql
users.

I know that MySQL has specifically exempted PHP applications that link to
the client from the GPL, and instead allows them to be distributed under
version 3.0 of the license.

It would be nice if they would provide a similar Perl exception allowing
DBD::mysql to be distributed under the same terms as Perl itself.


-dave

/*=======================
House Absolute Consulting
www.houseabsolute.com
=======================*/

--
MySQL Perl Mailing List
For list archives: http://lists.mysql.com/perl
To unsubscribe: http://lists.mysql.com/perl?unsub=gcdmp-msql-mysql-modules@m .gmane.org