[Openal-devel] Re-licensing OpenAL Soft

[Christopher Fitzgerald]

Greetings,

Sorry, this was supposed to go to the list last night, but I clicked the wrong reply button.

> I'm not sure. I just know that I had a couple guys from the Panda3D project
> come to me in #openal and say they were polishing up audio support and
> considering moving to OpenAL Soft, but the LGPL license makes it almost
> useless for many cases, particularly on consoles like the PS3 and Wii where
> they don't allow LGPL libraries.

That answers my previous question regarding what the concern was with using the LGPL.

I assume it's a restriction imposed by the development license for the consoles in question.  Probably for legal reasons; at least in so much as making sure no platform-specific code is released openly.  Console makers sure love keeping their platform APIs out of view.

> FWIW, I personally like the LGPL for a project like OpenAL Soft, since it
> keeps the code open, but allows commercial use without infecting like the GPL
> does, nor requires providing source code for unmodified copies. However, the
> LGPL is apparently a blocker for using it on certain systems (one of which I'd
> be quite happy to see it on), and this project has always been about being
> cross-platform and getting more people to use the OpenAL API (which in turn
> makes it easier to create cross-platform applications).

I certainly agree with the first point, and while I have reservations on the second, I can understand the desire for widening the platforms OpenAL Soft runs on.

> Dual-licensing does sound like an attractive option, keeping it LGPL for
> regular uses, but optionally allowing a different license to be used as
> necessary. It's something to discuss (here, and with the people requesting the
> change).

Seems to be the best suggestion at present, but it does raise a concern regarding the terms for granting the second license.

Regards,
 - Christopher 		 	   		  
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