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August 21, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Sun eyes GPL for NetBeans
Having already licensed its Java platform under the GNU General Public License (GPL), Sun Microsystems now is considering doing the same thing for the NetBeans open source application development tools platform, a Sun representative acknowledged.
NetBeans currently is licensed under Sun's CDDL (Common Development and Distribution License). GPL would make NetBeans "even more Linux-friendly," according to a Web page of frequently asked questions on the NetBeans Web site.
A java.net blogger, Joshua Marinacci, goes a step further and says NetBeans definitely will be licensed under GPL version 2, although the CDDL remains an option for users.
"It hasn't happened yet as we are still working out the final plans, but it's official and it's definitely going to happen. This is great for three reasons," Marinacci said. "First, you'll be able to get NetBeans under the GPL, just like you can get so many other great open source products. Second, GPLv2 + classpath exception is the exact same license that the JDK (Java Development Kit) uses. This means more harmony with the rest of Sun's Java products. Third, this encourages the use of the GPL over other licenses which I hope will one day reduce the number of licenses out there in the world."
Marinacci has served on the Swing toolkit team at Sun.
But the official word is that the company currently is gauging community interest in the GPL for NetBeans.
Under the GPL, software developed under it must be made available to the community at large. But the classpath exception enables combinations of proprietary code with GPL classpath libraries without needing to redistribute the proprietary code.
According to another java.net blogger, Jim Driscoll, writing in June 2005, the difference between the GPL and CDDL is that GPL requires showing modifications made to the source and show any code you add as well. CDDL requires showing modifications made to the source, but it is not viral like GPL.
Posted by Paul Krill on August 21, 2007 04:42 PM
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