Re: python libraries in guile: the license question

[Maciej Stachowiak <mstachow at alum dot mit dot edu>]

Valentin Kamyshenko wrote:
> 
> Hello,
> 
> IMHO, Guile should contain modules, that simplify working with
> mailboxes (in different formats) and parsing of internet
> messages. Similar modules (and other useful things) exist in python,
> and, as for me, it would be unnecessary and dull job to try to rewrite
> them from the scratch, when they could be easily derived from the good
> written python code (this is especially true for the parts of the
> code, that are written in C, where the needed changes seems to be
> really minimal). The question is, how does this correspond to the
> license policy of guile.
> 
> I think, being separate modules, they could be distributed under
> GPL (without the special extension, specific to guile), but, so far as
> I understood, python sources are not GPL'ed: their license looks like:

The FSF could probably advise you on whether this license is
GPL-compatible.
But note that it's not necessary for independent Guile modules to be any
specific license. The GGPL (GPL with special Guile exception for
linking)
makes it OK to put the code under any license. I would personally rather
see independent modules under the GGPL than the GPL, to maximize the
usefulness
of Guile for all applications. However, I can understand if module
authors
don't want their module code used in proprietary applications.

 - Maciej