What is GPL software?

Posted by Richelo Killian on December 24th, 2007
          0 Votes

I am sure that you have at some point in time come across the term GPL software.

Most people know that GPL software is free software, but, outside of that, eyes generally glaze over when they start looking at the full GPL, and with good reason! The latest version of the GPL licence, GPLv3, is a LONG, very "legal" document, which can only truly be understood by some top lawyer.

In this article, I want to try and spell out the GPL in plain English.

Let’s see how I do:

  • Anybody can use the software for any purpose, commercial or non-commercial.
  • Anybody can modify the software in any desired way for private use, without redistributing any code. This means you are able to use and customize the software to run any web site, commercial or non-commercial, with no requirement to contribute your modifications back to the software user community. Naturally, such contributions are welcome, but by no means required.
  • Anybody can redistribute the software, in its original form or modified, as long as the distributed product comes with full source code and is also licensed under the GPL.

That is the quick, easy and dirty of it. There are TONS more to it, but, this is the core of what you need to know.

You might be wondering why on earth a Internet Marketing company, who actually SELLS commercial software would want to simplify what the GPL means…… Well, watch this blog over the next couple of days to find out!

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Free, Software

 

Carducci said,

April 15, 2008 @ 5:19 pm

Hi Richelo, Thanks for this - I googled “GPL in PLain English” and found you!

I have a question - your second point:
“Anybody can modify the software in any desired way for private use, without redistributing any code. This means you are able to use and customize the software to run any web site, commercial or non-commercial, with no requirement to contribute your modifications back to the software user community. Naturally, such contributions are welcome, but by no means required. ” - could you elaborate on this?

I read GPL v3 and almsot fell off my chair with the legal mumbo-jumbo. What I got is you MUST provide the source-code - how does this work?

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Richelo Killian said,

April 15, 2008 @ 10:18 pm

Hi Carducci,

As long as the GPL software that you modified is not being distributed, you don’t have to do anything.

If you take a GPL software, modify it, and then distribute it, you HAVE to include the source code. Your modified source that is.

Hope that helps.

Cheers

Richelo

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