[Zope] Sybase DA + FreeBSD + TDS

[Andrew Kenneth Milton]

+----[ Hannu Krosing ]---------------------------------------------
| Andrew Kenneth Milton wrote:
| > 
| > +----[ Anthony Baxter ]---------------------------------------------
| > | >>> Andrew Kenneth Milton wrote
| > | > | A few comments: You'll need a more recent release of Sybase than the
| > | > | old free 11.0.3 version. There's an 11.9.2 that you can download.
| > | > I only really need it to talk to MS-SQL 6.5 and it is working so the
| > | > 11.0.3 header files seem to be enough. I also didn't want to have anything
| > | > radically divergent from the FreeTDS base, so I figured an earlier release
| > | > was better.
| > |
| > | I _believe_ the 11.0.3 release is a "free" one, i.e. you don't need to
| > | get a license for it. In that case, you could put together a how-to like
| > 
| > /*
| > **      Sybase Open Client/Server Version 10.0.1
| > **      Confidential Property of Sybase, Inc.
| > **      Copyright  Sybase, Inc. 1992, 1994
| > **      All rights reserved
| > */
| > 
| > You don't need a license to use, I think you need a license to
| > redistribute parts of it.
| 
| But how-to and patches are _not_ a part of it ! They are _your_ intellectual 
| property and you are free to do hwatever you want with it. (Unless you have 
| signed some papers specifically giving up your rights to distribute your work
| in future in exchange to the privilege of looking at their code ;)

I know about IP, I also know the difference between reverse-engineering
and clean-room techniques. There are legal issues from both sides of the
fence.

| 
| > I guess if I put a How-To up on the
| > Zope site and if DigiCool are happy to take the heat for it,
| > I can do it, inc. patches against freetds and the Sybase
| > include files. It's the diffs against the include files I'm
| > worried about + the fact that FreeTDS is GPL and Sybase is not;
| 
| Yes, the last part can be troublesome. You should have never linked them, 
| not even for your own use! AFAIK GPL specifically forbids this. 
| So wait for a call from FSF lawyers.

GPL only forbids distribution :-) What I do in the privacy of my own
computer is my business :-)

| 
| > derivative products and all that. I'm not going to subject anyone
| > to possible legal action without their permission :-)
| 
| Just put a prominent notice in the readme.txt and advise possible downloaders
| to read readme.txt before downloading the how-to.

I've submitted a How-To and a Software Package consisting of the How-To and
three diff files (One for FreeTDS, One for Sybase Include Files, and One for
the Adpater) to DigiCool for review. I guess it's up to them now. At least
with the diff files split, some of the work can be distributed.

-- 
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The Internet (Aust) Pty Ltd          |  F:+61 7 3870 4477   | 
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