Achieving a common code base

ContributorsLicensingSoftware sustainabilityPotential issues

SUMOVER Project workshop: 28-30 November 2005, UCL.

Contributors

• UCL• Berkeley• AG

– ANL not keen on GPL

• VRVS– Caltech issues with src code release

• Many external people and organisations– Regents of the University of California, Stichting Mathematisch Centrum, Amsterdam, Sun

Microsystems Inc, Xerox Corporation, Apple Computer Inc, University of British Columbia, and WIDE Project. Argonne National Laboratory/University of Chicago. Internet Software Consortium. Bell Communications Research, RSA Data Security, Inc. Nortel Networks, University of Sydney, Technische Universitaet Berlin, British Telecommunications Plc, Brook Milligan, Intel Corporation, HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY, Luigi Rizzo, University of Sydney Vislab, Software Research Associates, Inc, Telenor Research and Development.

SUMOVER Project workshop: 28-30 November 2005, UCL.

Licensing

• Many licensing options• The tools are generally under Berkeley Standard

Distribution (BSD) style license.– BSD recently modified to remove advertising clause

• External code uses other licenses– The licenses in use are mainly a BSD style licence from University College London for RAT and the Common

multimedia library, whilst VIC is mainly covered by a BSD licence from Regents of the University of California. Other source files are under a new-BSD licence from external institutions including Stichting Mathematisch Centrum, Amsterdam, Sun Microsystems Inc, Xerox Corporation, Apple Computer Inc, University of British Columbia, and WIDE Project. Others files are under the old-BSD license from Argonne National Laboratory/University of Chicago. Some files are freely licensed by the Internet Software Consortium.

– In addition to the license holders above there copyright holders including; Bell Communications Research, RSA Data Security, Inc. Nortel Networks, University of Sydney, Technische Universitaet Berlin, British Telecommunications Plc, Brook Milligan, Intel Corporation, HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY, Luigi Rizzo, University of Sydney Vislab, Software Research Associates, Inc, Telenor Research and Development.

SUMOVER Project workshop: 28-30 November 2005, UCL.

Open source licenses

• “Free” software licenses– GPL compatible

• GPL, BSD, Mozilla (MPL), Intel Open Src, X11/MIT, Perl, Zope, Vim, OpenLDAP

– GPL incompatible• Apache, PHP, SSL, Python, Public Src licenses: Apple, IBM,

Sun,

• “Non-free” source licences– E.g. Sun Community src, Microsoft shared src,

SUMOVER Project workshop: 28-30 November 2005, UCL.

Potential issues

• Dual-licensing– E.g. MySQL, Berkeley DB, QT, Mono, cURL,

• Commercialisation– Not incompatible with open source

• Non-commercial use licencing– E.g. A codec in RAT (WB-ADPCM codec) - Licensed by British

Telecommunications Plc with permission to use only in for non-commercial research and development projects

• It is possible to exclude that codec as required.

• Multiple incompatible licensing• Partial contributions

SUMOVER Project workshop: 28-30 November 2005, UCL.

Software sustainability

• Management systems– SCM etc, Sourceforge

• Stimulate contributions from community– Code – Bugs– Features– Docs