[GRASS5] libgrass license?

[Radim Blazek]

On Wednesday 03 December 2003 00:22, you wrote:
> > > Also, out of curiosity, what overlap is there between GRASS++ and
> > > libgrass (which is LGPL) ?
> >
> > GRASS++ itself is MIT, but it is using GRASS libraries also.
>
> .. which means it can only be practically used as GPL until it no longer
> links against GPL libraries (as non-GPL libraries become available), at
> which point it magically reverts to MIT? Is that correct?

Yes.

> > I am not sure about libgrass, but it cannot be anything more free than
> > GPL, as it is based on GRASS 5
>
> From:
> http://gdal.velocet.ca/projects/grass/
>
> libgrass5-1.0.0.tar.gz/COPYING
> "GNU LESSER GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
> Version 2.1, February 1999"
>
> libgrass5-1.0.0.tar.gz/README
> "The libgrass package consists of the majority of the GRASS libgis, and
> libdatetime library build as a standalone shared library suitable for
> use by non-GRASS applications wishing to read and write GRASS
> databases."
>
> One would have to check that the included "majority of the GRASS libgis,
> and libdatetime" is only old public domain code and not newer GPL
> additions, which cannot be arbitrarily re-licensed by a 3rd party as
> LGPL, AFAIK.
>
>
> Surely the file format isn't that complicated that GRASS libraries have
> to be used for read/write. The programmer's manual should provide enough
> info for a clean non-GPL library to be written, even if it is a pain to
> reproduce working code. (which would be the GRASS++ library, which would
> eventually be destined to be included with GDAL/OGR under the MIT/X
> license?)

GRASS++ is not intended todo that, it is quite simple and it just makes 
easier to use GRASS libraries in C++ and outside of the GRASS session.

I think, that Thierry Laronde's activity is very interesting in this context.
Rasters did not change too much after public domain era (but many fixes were done)
so his version of GRASS will be interesting for GDAL (->Mapserver) and GRASS++.
Vectors are significantly changed in 5.7, but it is mostly old code (public domain)
and my work, and I want to make the new vectors available under a license like MIT.

Radim