Proliferation

Welcome

Article from Issue 238/2020
Author(s):

Name an open source license. Most readers of this magazine would think of the GNU Public License (GPL), but other licenses also occupy a portion of community attention.

Dear Reader,

Name an open source license. Most readers of this magazine would think of the GNU Public License (GPL), but other licenses also occupy a portion of community attention. For instance, most seasoned Linux users are aware of the BSD license and the Apache License, as well as the Mozilla Public License and the Lesser GPL. Each license serves a slightly different need, so each license is slightly different.

A menu of different open source licenses is actually healthy, because it gives users flexibility in choosing a license based on the project's priorities and needs. But seriously, how big does this menu really need to be? The Open Source Initiative (OSI) lists 103 licenses that meet the Open Source Definition [1]. 17 of the licenses on the list are marked as retired or superseded, but that still leaves 86 active licenses that all qualify as open source. As you can probably guess, most of these licenses are hardly ever used, but they still meet the definition, so they found their way onto the list.

[...]

Use Express-Checkout link below to read the full article (PDF).

Buy this article as PDF

Express-Checkout as PDF
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS
 
TABLET & SMARTPHONE APPS
Get it on Google Play

US / Canada

Get it on Google Play

UK / Australia

Related content

comments powered by Disqus
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters

Support Our Work

Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

Learn More

News