LGPL license for Qt 4.5

[sturlamolden]

According to a Norwegian publication, Nokia will release Qt under LGPL
as of version 4.5.

If I had stocks in Riverbank Computing ltd., I would sell them now...

For the rest of us, this is fantastic news.

http://digi.no/php/art.php?id=800922

 

[drobinow]

According to a Norwegian publication, Nokia will release Qt under LGPL
as of version 4.5.

If I had stocks in Riverbank Computing ltd., I would sell them now...

For the rest of us, this is fantastic news.

http://digi.no/php/art.php?id=800922

http://www.qtsoftware.com/about/licensing

Not sure what this means for PyQt

 

[sturlamolden]

http://www.qtsoftware.com/about/licensing

Not sure what this means for PyQt

It means that:
- If Riverbank keep their dual GPL licensing scheme, somebody else
will make an LGPL 'QtPython' instead.
- If Riverbank change PyQt to LGPL, they will loose most of their
revenue form PyQt.

In either case, Qt will be available under the same licensing terms as
wxWidgets.

As of today, the main reason to prefer wxPython over PyQt is the
license. With an LGPL'd Qt, I'd rather ask what this will mean for
wxPython.

 

[Mike Driscoll]

It means that:
- If Riverbank keep their dual GPL licensing scheme, somebody else
will make an LGPL 'QtPython' instead.
- If Riverbank change PyQt to LGPL, they will loose most of their
revenue form PyQt.

In either case, Qt will be available under the same licensing terms as
wxWidgets.

As of today, the main reason to prefer wxPython over PyQt is the
license. With an LGPL'd Qt, I'd rather ask what this will mean for
wxPython.

I'm pretty sure that Qt is mostly (if not all) custom widgets whereas
wxPython uses native widgets whenever possible. While this allows Qt
to have skinning (a plus!), it also can make them look less than
native (a minus!).

If they do release a LGPL version, I may take a look at it just to see
how different it is, although I'm pretty happy with what I'm using.

Mike

 

[excord80]

In either case, Qt will be available under the same licensing terms as
wxWidgets.

As of today, the main reason to prefer wxPython over PyQt is the
license. With an LGPL'd Qt, I'd rather ask what this will mean for
wxPython.

wx has a nice community, and is actively developed, FWICT. I've also
heard that its maintainer is very responsive.

However, my impression is that the main appeal of wx is that it's API
is similar to MS Windows MFC (an appeal only for (some) MS Windows
developers though) and that it has favorable licensing conditions
(like GTK+). Further, I suspect that Pythoneers have been using and
recommending it because it's currently the least worst solution.

Now that LGPL Qt is very nearly here, I'd say that wxWidgets is going
to have a very challenging time ahead. Very challenging.

 

[Carl Banks]

According to a Norwegian publication, Nokia will release Qt under LGPL
as of version 4.5.

If I had stocks in Riverbank Computing ltd., I would sell them now...

For the rest of us, this is fantastic news.

http://digi.no/php/art.php?id=800922

Is Nokia the making the full Qt toolkit LGPL, or just the parts that
were previously GPL? (Can't read Norwegian if it's in the article.)
If it's the former Rivebank Computing will be ok, they might even sell
more support contracts this way since companies are more likely to use
LGPL than GPL software.


Carl Banks

 

[Robert Kern]

Is Nokia the making the full Qt toolkit LGPL, or just the parts that
were previously GPL? (Can't read Norwegian if it's in the article.)

The "full" Qt toolkit <4.5 is dual-licensed Commercial/GPL, and the "full" Qt
toolkit >=4.5 will be Commercial/LGPL/GPL. Trolltech did have a few extra
libraries that were just Commercial, IIRC, but these were relatively small. What
people usually call "Qt" (i.e. all of the stuff that PyQt wraps) is going to be
LGPLed.

You can get more information in English at the new Qt site here:

http://www.qtsoftware.com/about/licensing

--
Robert Kern

"I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma
that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had
an underlying truth."
-- Umberto Eco

 

[Ville Vainio]

According to a Norwegian publication, Nokia will release Qt under LGPL
as of version 4.5.

If I had stocks in Riverbank Computing ltd., I would sell them now...

Isn't that a tad thankless and premature?

It may be that the "support" aspect needs to be emphasized (currently,
the paying customers get a priority over non-paying customers, but
there are no formal support contracts), but if we assume that the
usage of Qt & PyQt in commercial setting is going to skyrocket (I'd
wager that it's a pretty safe assumption), selling plain support could
prove very profitable as well - esp. since most PyQt users probably
won't be too eager to start messing with SIP & fiddling around with Qt
C++ plumbing.

 

[eliben]

According to a Norwegian publication, Nokia will release Qt under LGPL
as of version 4.5.

If I had stocks in Riverbank Computing ltd., I would sell them now...

Unlikely...

The switch of Qt to LGPL will almost certainly vastly increase the Qt
user base. Leaving very few and minor imperfections aside, Qt is a
superior GUI library and programming framework, and its lack of free
license seriously impeded adoption in the past. The increase in Qt use
will also cause a great increase in PyQt use, and I would imagine
Riverbank will be able to make a good living from consulting on PyQt
topics, even if their sales from selling PyQt "licenses" decrease.

Eli