Andrew Said:

>
> Be certain to ask the right questions.  The issues are complex.  What
> is the LGPL status of subclasses of the LGPL code?  of various
> patterns that do not use inheritance?
>
> All of a sudden, commercial uses of Squeak will require complex
> compliance memoranda by attorneys, depending on the specific classes
> used and not used.

GPL code CAN be used for commercial purposes, you just have to provide 
the SOURCE with the application. It's not rocket science to read the 
license and understand it. As a legal doc, it's durn clear as to what 
it involves.

In the 50s and 60s, it was a VERY common practice to give the source 
with a purchased app. It was even common with UNIX source for SYS-V.

Personally, I like the GPL because it forces people to 'play fair'. My 
hard work won't be locked away, and I won't see anything from it ( 
improvements, upgrades, etc ). Plus any fixes made will make it back 
into the community. 

That said, I am not a 100% GPL fanatic. Personally, I think Alladin GS 
has the best of both worlds. A commercial release, and after a year or 
so, the old code is released under the GPL ( which makes maintenance, 
and mods for specific uses easier ).

It's a license, use it or don't. No one is forcing you. But in certain 
situations, I think it is VERY useful and important.

-Daniel