SmartOS (based on IllumOS) released

SmartOS (based on IllumOS) released - with KVM

Posted Aug 15, 2011 19:48 UTC (Mon) by trasz (guest, #45786)
In reply to: SmartOS (based on IllumOS) released - with KVM by danieldk
Parent article: SmartOS (based on IllumOS) released - with KVM

Yes, proprietary software vendor has to release it's modifications to the CDDL code; that's the point of copyleft, after all. However, differently from GPL, at least in Stallman's interpretation, the vendor does not need to release _his_ code that is merely linked with CDDL-ed code.

As for the GPL compatibility - MIT and modified BSD are subset of GPL.

As for the usefulness: licensing OpenSolaris under GPL would make it useless to everyone except Linux community, and Linux developers probably wouldn't accept the code anyway due to NIH. By licensing it under CDDL they made the code available for pretty much everyone, including e.g. MacOS X, and even Linux: using CDDL-ed kernel module is not in any way more problematic than using closed source kernel module.

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SmartOS (based on IllumOS) released - with KVM

Posted Aug 15, 2011 19:58 UTC (Mon) by clump (subscriber, #27801) [Link] (2 responses)

As for the usefulness: licensing OpenSolaris under GPL would make it useless to everyone except Linux community, and Linux developers probably wouldn't accept the code anyway due to NIH. By licensing it under CDDL they made the code available for pretty much everyone, including e.g. MacOS X, and even Linux: using CDDL-ed kernel module is not in any way more problematic than using closed source kernel module.

You lost me here. The parent comment regarded the decision to conflict with the GPL, not about changing from CDDL to GPL. Your "NIH" comment is an unfortunate non-sequitur.

Binary modules are very problematic for Linux distributors and users. If the module is not binary but under a conflicting license the situation is slightly better, only in that you can see the code if you were so inclined to look. That still would not make maintenance, distribution, or a user's life any easier.

SmartOS (based on IllumOS) released - with KVM

Posted Aug 15, 2011 20:13 UTC (Mon) by trasz (guest, #45786) [Link] (1 responses)

Ah, I assumed you were talking about releasing the code under GPL, not about making CDDL GPL-compatible. But again - the only way to make CDDL GPL-compatible would be to make it a subset of GPL, it couldn't include the nice patent protection it has now, for example.

As for binary modules - yes, they are a problem, but it's just an annoyance. Releasing the code under GPL instead of CDDL would make it impossible to e.g. include DTrace in OSX - not "inconvenient", but just impossible, at least according to Stallman's interpretation of GPL.

SmartOS (based on IllumOS) released - with KVM

Posted Aug 15, 2011 22:25 UTC (Mon) by cortana (subscriber, #24596) [Link]

Surely the code could be dual-licensed under the GPL and the CDDL.