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Q: What is the GPL and how does it affect the distribution of applications that I create with Kylix Open Edition?

  • A: The GPL, GNU General Public License, is a free software (http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html) distribution license, often referred to as an open-source license. GPL, defined by Richard Stallman of the Free Software Foundation, was created to provide a protected means of distributing free software and to ensure that derivative works also remain free. A copy of the GPL license can be found at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html.
  • The Kylix Open Edition ships with CLX libraries licensed under the GPL license. As such, any applications that are built with a CLX library must make their sources freely available and distribute them under the terms of the GPL license as well. For example, any application built with the Kylix Open Edition must link to the BaseCLX? library and will therefore be bound to the GPL. Furthermore, the Open Edition IDE End User License Agreement (EULA) also requires that any software developed with Kylix Open Edition must be released to the general public under the terms of the GPL. Any other use of Kylix Open Edition IDE would be in legal violation of the license agreement.