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List:       kde-freeqt
Subject:    Re: [freeqt] Nail in the coffin?
From:       Stefan Westerfeld <stefan () space ! twc ! de>
Date:       2000-09-07 8:22:20
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   Hi!

On Wed, Sep 06, 2000 at 07:03:58PM -0400, Ken Wood wrote:
> > Well, looks like Qt/Unix 2.2 is being released under the GPL.
> >
> > I assume this officially kills the freeqt/harmony project.
> >
> > I'm sure  people will argue the merits of having an LGPL version, but
> > I seriously doubt this project will every be finished or widely used.
> 
> If I understand correctly, both QT and the KDE libraries are licensed under
> the GPL. Personally I find this a bit disappointing, since (if I understand
> how the GPL works correctly) this forces all applications written using the
> KDE libraries to also be GPL.

Wrong. The KDE libraries are entierly licensed under LGPL or less restrictive
licenses (i.e. the X11 license). Qt is dual-licensed (GPL+QPL), and you can
buy a license for proprietary development.

This means that

 * if you write an open source app, you are allowed to do so as you
   - can use the GPL+LGPL library licensing if you want to write a GPLd app
   - can use the QPL+LGPL library licensing if you want to write something
     which is open source, but not GPL compatible

 * if you want to write a proprietary, closed source app, you need to
   obtain a suitable license from Troll Tech for using Qt, whereas you
   are already allowed to use the KDE libs

So if you want to have KDE apps rely only on LGPLd libs, certainly completing
Harmony would be sufficient.

   Cu... Stefan
-- 
  -* Stefan Westerfeld, stefan@space.twc.de (PGP!), Hamburg/Germany
     KDE Developer, project infos at http://space.twc.de/~stefan/kde *-         

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