Here's an interesting interpretation from Sleepycat (BerkeleyDB). While it might not be 100% aplicable to Mysql's license, the definition of the term application would be key here.
Do I have to pay for a Berkeley DB license to use it in my Perl or Python scripts?
No, you may use the Berkeley DB open source license at no cost. The Berkeley DB open source license requires that software that uses Berkeley DB be freely redistributable. In the case of Perl or Python, that software is Perl or Python, and not your scripts. Any scripts you write are your property, including scripts that make use of Berkeley DB. None of the Perl, Python or Berkeley DB licenses place any restrictions on what you may do with them.
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Quoted from the link in the above post:
Another similar and very common case is to provide libraries with the interpreter which are themselves interpreted. For instance, Perl comes with many Perl modules, and a Java implementation comes with many Java classes. These libraries and the programs that call them are always dynamically linked together.
A consequence is that if you choose to use GPL'd Perl modules or Java classes in your program, you must release the program in a GPL-compatible way, regardless of the license used in the Perl or Java interpreter that the combined Perl or Java program will run on.
DBI and Class::DBI are both released under GPL or the Artistic License. In which case the application to be interpreted by perl is not by definition required to be GPL.
Additionally, unless the aplication uses specific Mysql only features, the use of DBI or Class::DBI in the aplication does not limited it to mysql only, which would invalidate this discussion wether or not one is required to release the written perl scripts under GPL.
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From http://www.mysql.com/company/legal/licensing/:
The Commercial License, which allows you to provide commercial software licenses to your customers or distribute MySQL-based applications. This is for organizations that do not want to release the source code for their applications as open source / free software; in other words they do not want to comply with the GNU General Public License (GPL). (emphasis mine)
For those developing open source applications, the Open Source License allows you to offer your software under an open source / free software license to all who wish to use, modify, and distribute it freely. The Open Source License allows you to use the software at no charge under the condition that if you use MySQL in an application you redistribute, the complete source code for your application must be available and freely redistributable under reasonable conditions. MySQL AB bases its interpretation of the GPL on the Free Software Foundation's Frequently Asked Questions.
Looks like we're both slightly in error. (I based my conclusions on the class I took a year ago.)
My criteria for good software:
- Does it work?
- Can someone else come in, make a change, and be reasonably certain no bugs were introduced?
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