Re: QuickLZ compression algorithm (Re: Inclusion in the PostgreSQL backend for toasting rows)

Douglas McNaught wrote:
> On Mon, Jan 5, 2009 at 3:18 AM, Stephen R. van den Berg <srb@cuci.nl> wrote:
>   
>> I'm not speaking for Lasse, merely providing food for thought, but it sounds
>> feasible to me (and conforming to Lasse's spirit of his intended license)
>> to put something like the following license on his code, which would allow
>> inclusion into the PostgreSQL codebase and not restrict usage in any
>> of the derived works:
>>
>> "Grant license to use the code in question without cost, provided that
>>  the code is being linked to at least 50% of the PostgreSQL code it is
>>  being distributed alongside with."
>>
>> This should allow commercial reuse in derived products without undesirable
>> sideeffects.
>>     
>
> I think Postgres becomes non-DFSG-free if this is done.  All of a
> sudden one can't pull arbitrary pieces of code out of PG and use them
> in other projects (which I'd argue is the intent if not the letter of
> the DFSG).  Have we ever allowed code in on these terms before?  Are
> we willing to be dropped from Debian and possibly Red Hat if this is
> the case?
>
>
>   

Presumably a clean room implementation of this algorithm would get us 
over these hurdles, if anyone wants to undertake it.

I certainly agree that we don't want arbitrary bits of our code to be 
encumbered or licensed differently from the rest.

cheers

andrew