[GRASSLIST:1016] Re: gdal lib installation problem

[Radim Blazek]

On Friday 22 August 2003 15:44, Bernhard Reiter wrote:
> The GNU GPL license is a good license for GRASS because it already
> requires us to check this avoiding traps that have hit GRASS hard
> several times in its history.

Because of GPL, it is impossible to distribute GRASS binaries with 
support for JPEG2000, DWG and other formats, even if libraries for
those formats are available with licenses which allow such distribution,
but GPL does not.
I don't see any reason to reduce GRASS usability this way (i.e. use GPL)
except FSF ideology.

I think that GPL is currently the biggest problem for GRASS and 
disqualifies it as GIS (_system_), limitting its integration 
and data exchange with existing nonGPL enviroments (i.e. high majority)
as well as it prevents any activities to extend GRASS functionality by
additional nonGPL modules.

Radim