Suggestions for releasing to Open Source

[Derek Bump - Dreamscape Software]

On 5/16/11 12:33 PM, Richmond Mathewson wrote:
> If your project involves Livecode/Runtime Revolution it CANNOT be
> released as Open Source as the
> Livecode engine is Closed Source.
>
> I fell foul of this about 5 years ago when I offered a slew of my EFL
> programs as freebies to
> the Edubuntu arm of Ubuntu; they turned them down flat because they were
> not completely
> open source (even though I was prepared to bundle the original stacks
> with them).
>
> In fact IFF your project involves some sort of code (such as TightVNC)
> that obliges you to
> release your end product as Open Source, and also involves the Livecode
> engine, you are, to be rather
> coarse, 'sha**ed' (whatever consonants you supply you will end up with
> something fairly
> filthy), as Livecode stuff ISN'T Open Source; and sitting on a fence is
> rather uncomfortable, and it is
> difficult to see exactly how you could do that in that sort of situation.
>
> Until someone develops an Open Source clone of the Livecode engine (all
> rather too much work
> for precious little reward) ALL stuff developed with Liecode cannot be
> described as Open Source.
>
> Sorry.

Wow!  That is pretty disappointing.  Yeah, the whole thing is pretty 
much written in LiveCode.  There is a little PHP in there, and then of 
course the TightVNC implementation.

So at this point should I just release the source to Rev Online?

I'm going to contact the folks at TightVNC and see if they'll allow me 
to bundle their VNC app with the 'openly available code' submitted to 
Rev Online.  Who knows, maybe they'll make an exception.

Thanks Richmond!


Derek Bump
Dreamscape Software
http://www.dreamscapesoftware.com