lp_solve distribution

[Fergus Henderson]

Dear Michel Berkelaar,

Hello again.

You wrote:
> By now, there are more
> packages to choose from, but not all of them are completely free including
> access to source code.
> 
> Stop worrying, take the code and get to work!

Thanks for your reply.

Unfortunately it is not quite that easy.

It turns out that allowing non-commercial use is not sufficient for our
purposes.  Although we ourselves are using it only for non-commercial
uses, we would like to distribute it as part of a free package that can
be used by commercial users.  And we would like our package to be
available on the Debian Linux CD, which is only possible if it is
really free, not just free for non-commercial use.  If this is not
possible with lp_solve, then I'm afraid we will have to abandon the
use of lp_solve and implement our own linear programming solver.

So, before we tread down that path, would you be willing to make
lp_solve available under a "really free" license, e.g. GPL, LGPL,
Berkeley-style licence, or Perl-style "Artistic" license?

For reference, I have attached some discussion about this topic
from the mercury-developers mailing list.

 | From: Tyson Richard DOWD <trd at cs.mu.oz.au>
 | Subject: Re: [m-dev.] diff: incorporating lp_solve in the distribution
 | To: mercury-developers at cs.mu.oz.au
 | Date: Thu, 9 Oct 1997 13:32:46 +1000 (EST)
 | 
 | Fergus Henderson wrote:
 | > Tyson, can you tell me whether the COPYING file for lp_solve shown below
 | > meets the Debian distribution requirements?
 | > 
 | > --------------------------------------------------
 | > COPYING:
 | > --------------------------------------------------
 | > The author of this software, Michel Berkelaar <michel at es.ele.tue.nl>,
 | > has granted permission for anyone to copy lp_solve, or modified version of
 | > lp_solve, for any non-commercial use.  He requests that anyone wishing
 | > to use it for commercial purposes should contact him for a licence.
 | > --------------------------------------------------
 | 
 | No way. This is not a free license. This would go in "non-free". And
 | if Mercury couldn't be used without it, it would put Mercury into
 | "contrib" instead of "main" (meaning it doesn't get on the CD).
 | 
 | I should point out that my vigilence on licences isn't just with
 | regard to Debian - if the Mercury distribution is encumbered with 
 | a stack of different licenses, people can't freely redistribute
 | Mercury, or use it freely. 
 | 
 | For example - Mission Critical probably couldn't use the termination
 | analysis package, given this constraint, (except possibly in their
 | research department), without getting a license. In fact, arguably, they
 | might not be able to redistribute the Mercury distribution if it
 | contains lp_solve (only non-commercial users have been given permission
 | to copy).
 | 
 | I would have to vote against this diff.
 | 
 | How deeply are we tied to this package? Is there a free alternative?
 | Could we implement a similar thing ourselves?

 | Could the author be asked to change their license?
 | 
 | Anyway, just for reference, here are the current rules, from the Debian
 | policy manual.
 | 
 | ----------------------------------------------------
 | 
 | 2.1.1 The Debian Free Software Guidelines 
 | 
 | The Debian Free Software Guidelines (DFSG) as is our definition of
 | `free' software. 
 | 
 |    1.Free Redistribution
 | 
 |       The license of a Debian component may not restrict any party from
 | selling or giving away the software as a component of an aggregate
 | software distribution containing programs from several different
 | sources. The license may not require a royalty or other fee for such
 | sale.
 | 
 |    2.Source Code
 | 
 |       The program must include source code, and must allow distribution
 | in source code as well as compiled form.
 | 
 |    3.Derived Works
 | 
 |       The license must allow modifications and derived works, and must
 | allow them to be distributed under the same terms as the license of the
 | original software.
 | 
 |    4.Integrity of The Author's Source Code
 | 
 |       The license may restrict source-code from being distributed in
 | modified form only if the license allows the distribution of ``patch
 | files'' with the source code for the purpose of modifying the program at
 | build time. The license must explicitly permit distribution of software
 | built from modified source code. The license may require derived works
 | to carry a different name or version number from the original software.
 | (This is a compromise. The Debian group encourages all authors to not
 | restrict any files, source or binary, from being modified.)
 | 
 |    5.No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups
 | 
 |       The license must not discriminate against any person or group of
 | persons.
 | 
 |    6.No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor
 | 
 |       The license must not restrict anyone from making use of the
 | program in a specific field of endeavor. For example, it may not
 | restrict the program from being used in a business, or from being used
 | for genetic research.
 | 
 |    7.Distribution of License
 | 
 |       The rights attached to the program must apply to all to whom the
 | program is redistributed without the need for execution of an additional
 | license by those parties.
 | 
 |    8.License Must Not Be Specific to Debian
 | 
 |       The rights attached to the program must not depend on the
 | program's being part of a Debian system. If the program is extracted
 | from Debian and used or distributed without Debian but otherwise within
 | the terms of the program's license, all parties to whom the program is
 | redistributed should have the same rights as those that are granted in
 | conjunction with the Debian system.
 | 
 |    9.License Must Not Contaminate Other Software
 | 
 |       The license must not place restrictions on other software that is
 | distributed along with the licensed software. For example, the license
 | must not insist that all other programs distributed on the same medium
 | must be free software.
 | 
 |   10.Example Licenses
 | 
 |       The ``GPL,'' ``BSD,'' and ``Artistic'' licenses are examples of
 | licenses that we consider free.
 | 
 | -- 
 |        Tyson Dowd           # To fix this, edit BLAH\BlahKey\Blah\Whatever 
 |                             # in the registry.
 |      trd at cs.mu.oz.au        # *WARNING* Editing the registry can DESTROY
 | http://www.cs.mu.oz.au/~trd # your machine forever. Do not do it.

-- 
Fergus Henderson <fjh at cs.mu.oz.au>   |  "I have always known that the pursuit
WWW: <http://www.cs.mu.oz.au/~fjh>   |  of excellence is a lethal habit"
PGP: finger fjh at 128.250.37.3         |     -- the last words of T. S. Garp.