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GPL and Perl Artistic License for CPAN Modules

by vishi83 (Pilgrim)
on Dec 09, 2005 at 10:02 UTC ( [id://515496]=perlquestion: print w/replies, xml ) Need Help??

vishi83 has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

Hi ppl !!

I've installed many modules from the CPAN. Now, I need to Know whether all the CPAN Modules have a GPL and PERL Artistic License.

How can I do this ?
I have done some work on this and collected a list of modules. But am not sure of those. Also i read those perldocs.. Does all the perldocs contain the COPYRIGHT Information.

Awaiting your reply..
Thank u

A perl Script without 'strict' is like a House without Roof; Both are not Safe;

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: GPL and Perl Artistic License for CPAN Modules
by davorg (Chancellor) on Dec 09, 2005 at 10:57 UTC
    I've installed many modules from the CPAN. Now, I need to Know whether all the CPAN Modules have a GPL and PERL Artistic License.

    I can't think of any counter-examples right now, but I'm almost certain that there are CPAN modules that aren't licensed under the GPL and/or the Artistic Licence. The process for uploading modules to CPAN doesn't check for licences so it's almost certain that some strange licences have been uploaded. The CPAN FAQ just says this:

    Everything on CPAN is free of charge. The reason for this is that CPAN is the product of hundreds of people donating their time and resources for the common good of the Perl community. There are places on the net where one can offer shareware without treading on the generosity of others and this is not that place.

    I'm sure I read some research that showed that there were a number of distributions on CPAN that contained no licencing information at all. I can't remember where it was tho'.

    So it looks like you're setting yourself an impossible task. A better approach might be to look at the licence for the specific modules that you are interested in and to contact the author if there is any ambiguity.

    --
    <http://dave.org.uk>

    "The first rule of Perl club is you do not talk about Perl club."
    -- Chip Salzenberg

Re: GPL and Perl Artistic License for CPAN Modules
by serf (Chaplain) on Dec 09, 2005 at 10:35 UTC
    The general info (and instructions on what to do if specific licencing info is not included) lives here:

    http://www.cpan.org/misc/cpan-faq.html#How_is_Perl_licensed

    "Most, though not all, modules on CPAN are licensed under the GNU Public License (GPL) or the Artistic license and should be stated in the documentation that accompanies the module itself. If the license is not specifically stated in the module, you can always write the author to clarify the issue for you."

Re: GPL and Perl Artistic License for CPAN Modules
by tirwhan (Abbot) on Dec 09, 2005 at 10:57 UTC

    I don't know of an easy way to do this, but if you still have the untarred module sources available you could do a search through those (with egrep -ri '(artistic|gpl)' or a more suitable variation thereof), or check the modules perldoc, most of those contain the appropriate licensing notice at the bottom. Otherwise, if you've got the modules installed on your system, check the place were your system usually puts documentation/licensing information (on Debian Linux that would be /usr/share/doc/<package-name>). Or browse the modules files on CPAN.

    As a last resort (and really as a last resort, you shouldn't bother people unless you're sure this information is missing) you can email the module author and ask him to clarify the license for you.


    Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place. Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly as possible, you are, by definition, not smart enough to debug it. -- Brian W. Kernighan
      with egrep -ri '(artistic|gpl)' or a more suitable variation thereof

      I think that:

      egrep -ri '(artistic|gpl|same terms as perl itself)'

      ...would be a very good variation :) I know my modules don't specifically mention Artistic or GPL textually. Nor do many others that I use regularly (but with the above term, they are explicitly available under Artistic or GPL).

      • another intruder with the mooring in the heart of the Perl

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