[Users] I wonder Geoext license

[Christopher Schmidt]

On Thu, Apr 23, 2009 at 12:57:45PM -0400, Chris Holmes wrote:
> We just started up a section of the wiki to be a licensing FAQ - I hope 
> to find some time in the next few days to help fill it out.  If people 
> want to add questions that would help, even if you don't know the 
> answers.  See http://www.geoext.org/trac/geoext/wiki/license
> 
> For this question, if you're fine with a MapFish solution then you're 
> fine with a GeoExt solution.  MapFish is GPL 3.  You can easily just 
> think of Ext+GeoExt as GPL 3.
> 
> Ext+GeoExt also has the additional option that you can purchase a 
> developer license and then you will not be bound by the terms of GPL 3. 
>     Ext is liberally licensed so it's also compatible with Ext.js's 
> developer license.  But if you're doing the deployment on a customers 
> site then GPL 3 should be fine for you - it only kicks in if you're 
> making some full package that they have to download.

The GPL restrictions -- specifically, the requirement to provide source code (or
in very limited circumstances, a written promise of source code) -- applies to
propogation or conveyance of the code. According to the FSF, since the
Javascript code is delivered from the server of the customer to the web browser
user, it is conveyed, and therefore subject to the terms of the GPLv3. This
means that if you *deploy* a GeoExt based application under the terms of the
GPLv3, it is the responsibility of that deployment to make available the source
code under the terms of the GPLv3.

(This is akin to making a compiled binary available over HTTP -- if you allow
people to download it, you must also provide them the source to it, if it is
released under the GPLv3. Javascript is just more 'object code'.)

Regards,
-- 
Christopher Schmidt
Web Developer