Re: guile-json, SRIFs and licenses

[John Cowan]

On Wed, Nov 6, 2019 at 9:56 AM Zelphir Kaltstahl <address@hidden>
wrote:

> I think in this case, it might be a good idea to make sure, that
> guile-json runs on all Schemes implementing a standard level and keep it
> free software, to avoid the problem of people grabbing it and making it
> proprietary software.
>
Lots of people who are quite committed to free and open source software
don't actually think that's a problem.  There are two traditional arguments
in favor of putting libraries under the GPL:

1) "Block embrace, extend, and extinguish":  the proprietary version gets
all the new and sexy features while the original FLOSS version languishes.
I don't think this is much of a problem for an implementation controlled by
a stable specification like a SRFI: new features will be non-conforming
features.

2) "Benefit GPLed programs":  if a library is GPLed, it supposedly gives
the advantages of using that library only to GPLed applications.  That was
the explicit reason for making readline a GPL library, and it did make
CLISP GPL-licensed; similarly with the Objective-C front end to gcc.   I
think history shows that this doesn't work very well in the long run:
rather than accepting the GPL, a lot of duplicative effort was put into
libedit/editline, which provides the same user-visible functions (but no
longer has a readline-compatible interface).  One of the purposes of FLOSS
is to try to *prevent* duplicated effort.

If it is that standard conform, it would hopefully require no effort to use
> the library in other Schemes. Then the only obstacle would be finding the
> repository and downloading the code.
>

That could be said of any license.  Whether or not a GPLed JSON library
requires the Scheme implementation to be itself GPL depends on the
implementation, but certainly a stand-alone *application* that uses it
would have to be.

> How could the dual license work, so that we still make sure, that
> guile-json can only be used as free software?
>

You can't.  If blocking proprietary free-riding is more important than
widespread use across different Schemes (the goal of the SRFIs and all
standardization efforts), then the GPL is the license of choice.



John Cowan          http://vrici.lojban.org/~cowan        address@hidden
And through this revolting graveyard of the universe the muffled,
maddening beating of drums, and thin, monotonous whine of blasphemous
flutes from inconceivable, unlighted chambers beyond Time; the
detestable pounding and piping whereunto dance slowly, awkwardly, and
absurdly the gigantic tenebrous ultimate gods --the blind, voiceless,
mindless gargoyles whose soul is Nyarlathotep. (Lovecraft)