Re: libgit2 - a true git library

From: Pierre Habouzit <madcoder@debian.org>
Date: Oct 31, 2008, 21:31 UTC
Message-ID: <20081031213114.GA21799@artemis.corp>
In-Reply-To: <alpine.LFD.2.00.0810311558540.13034@xanadu.home>

On Fri, Oct 31, 2008 at 08:24:14PM +0000, Nicolas Pitre wrote:

Show 9 quoted lines

> On Fri, 31 Oct 2008, Pierre Habouzit wrote:
> 
> > Last but not least, I believe parts of git-core are currently easy to
> > just take. For example, any code *I* wrote, I hereby give permission to
> > relicense it in any of the following licenses: BSD-like, MIT-like,
> > WTFPL.
> 
> First........... is there really a need to re-license it?
> If so then the choice of license is IMHO rather important.

Hmm yeah, GPL has the viral link issue, and there is a real use of embedding the libgit in many projects. There is a use for it: front-ends to git from editors, for closed-source projects of various sorts, ... All of those right now must do a reimplementation of what they need. As soon as they need some kind of performance, exec()ing git-* commands doesn't fly.

Git is currently mostly "GPLv2 or later". A BSDish license was mentioned, because it's the most permissive one and that nobody cared that much, though a LGPL/GPL-with-GCC-exception would probably fly.

Many of the people needing a library for libgit are probably reading the list, I'll let them comment. The kind of license you propose would totally suite my needs, and I think, most of the one discussed at GitTogether'08 (except for the eclipse people disliking GPL'ed stuff, but anyways there was the issue of C code being non pure java anyways, so maybe Shawn can comment on that bit, I don't recall the exact specifics I must reckon).

OT: FWIW I prefer BSDish licenses (even the MIT actually) for libraries
because I believe that computing is overall better if everyone can use
the right tool for the task, and I don't want to prevent people from
using good stuff (I hope I write good stuff ;P) because of the license.
And I don't care about people don't giving back to me, those are not the
kind of people who would have given back if it was GPL'ed anyways.

But I understand this is a completely personal view, and I'm not even trying to persuade you :)

-- 
·O·  Pierre Habouzit
··O                                                madcoder@debian.org
OOO                                                http://www.madism.org