Re: License for PostgreSQL for commercial purpose - Mailing list pgsql-admin

eric.yum@ck-lifesciences.com ("Eric Yum") writes:
> I am a developer of one commercial organization. We are going to
> develop some applications with PostgreSQL 7.3.3. I learn from some
> websites that it cost no charge for developing software with
> PostgreSQL in commercial environment. However, I saw the PostgreSQL
> is under two type of licenses, namely, X11-style license and BSD
> license for the following websites, :p>
>
> http://www.postgresql.org/licence.html:p>
>
> http://www.gnu.org/directory/database/servers/postgresql.html:p>
>
> Please kindly provide professional comment on this issue and suggest
> whether the use of PostgreSQL for commercial purpose is no license
> charge or not :p>

What you are observing is that the Free Software Foundation (who hold
the gnu.org domain) felt a need to write up their own interpretation
of what they feel various licenses mean.

The FSF characterizes the PostgreSQL license as being "an X11 style
license."  They felt a need to distinguish between different
variations of licenses that are called 'BSD licenses.'

The FSF web site then compares various variations on "BSD licenses,"
considering that there are some that they deem to be "free" (in their
terms), and that there are others that they deem to _NOT_ be "free"
(again in their terms).

None of that establishes that there is actually more than one license
under which you can obtain PostgreSQL; it merely indicates that the
FSF felt the need to use a different name for the license.

There aren't two licenses; there's just one.  And it allows you to use
PostgreSQL for whatever purpose you like without imposing any
licensing fees.

I also find it quite curious that you intend to deploy applications
with a version of PostgreSQL that is known to have bugs fixed by later
releases.  The fact that version 7.3.6 has been released should be
clearly interpreted as indicating that there were problems with all
preceding versions, and that users are to be encouraged to upgrade to
that version.

Furthermore, 7.4.2 has been released, offering substantial performance
and other functionality advantages over the 7.3 series.  It would seem
odd to start developing applications with a version that has already
been (arguably) superceded by a new major release.
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