License: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:37, 29 August 2008

Model Licening information

More will come soon--WikiSysop 11:46, 29 August 2008 (MDT)

Why should I license my source code?

The main goal of CSDMS is to offer a community-built and freely available suite of integrated, ever-improving software models and modules that predict the movement of fluids, and the flux (production, erosion, transport, and deposition) of sediment and solutes in landscapes and their sedimentary basins over a broad range of time and space scales.
Licensing software models and modules ensure you that once freely available made software models and modules are staying available for the community, even if others are 'upgrading' your code.

How to choose a software license?

CSDMS Integration software is licensed under the BSD or MIT-X11. This implies that permission is granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of CSDMS software and associated documentation files, without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished, subject to the following conditions:

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

However CSDMS recommends, to those developing component models, to use the GPL v.2 license, which is widely used by free libre / open source software developers because the license:

provides a better quid-pro-quo for developers
establishes collaboration between people
Protects developers work
encourages increasing the amount of free software.

Using the GNU GPL will require that all the released improved versions be free software. This means you can avoid the risk of having to compete with a proprietary modified version of your own work.
And even if you don't like the GPL license, potential co-developers do, so your project is more likely to be successful if you accommodate them.

CSDMS suggested licenses

CSDMS urges program developers to chose GPL v2 or at least GPL v2 compatible licenses to make it possible to couple models with other models such that other people can use them. The next Free Software Foundation (FSF) approved licenses are GPL v2 compatible:

Artistic License 2.0
Berkeley Database License
modified BSD license
Boost Software License
Cryptix General License
Eiffel Forum License version2
GNU Lesser General Public License
Intel Open Source License
ISC license
MIT license
Python Software Foundation License 2.0.1, 2.1.1 and newer
W3C Software Notice and License
zlib/libpng license
Zope Public License version 2.0

For more information about licenses, see the external links below.

External links:

http://rosenlaw.com/oslbook.htm (Open Source Licensing book)
http://www.opensource.org/licenses/ (list including information of all open source licenses)

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 Licensing software models and modules ensure you that once freely available made software models and modules are staying available for the community, even if others are 'upgrading' your code.
 ===How to choose a software license?===
-CSDMS Integration software is licensed under the BSD or MIT-X11. THis implies that permission is granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+CSDMS Integration software is licensed under the BSD or MIT-X11. This implies that permission is granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
-of this software and associated documentation files, without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished, subject to the following conditions:
+of CSDMS software and associated documentation files, without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished, subject to the following conditions:
 THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR