You absolutely must understand the ramifications of the numerous open source license variants before you try to use open source software in your own projects, particularly if you’re writing commercial software. We debated whether or not to attempt writing abstracts of the various open source licenses, but we decided there’s already enough helpful information available through other venues.
First and foremost, grab a copy of Understanding Open Source and Free Software Licensing, by Andrew M. St. Laurent (O’Reilly). (We actually tried to get Andrew to write an abstract section for us, but unfortunately he couldn’t commit to the project.)
Second, take a look at the Open Source Initiative’s license listing at http://www.opensource.org/licenses/. All the most common open source licenses are listed there, although the OSI doesn’t make recommendations for choosing one over the other.
Ed Burnette has a terrific HOW-TO on selecting open source licenses at http://blogs.zdnet.com/Burnette/?p=130. Make sure to read the comments on that post for additional viewpoints.
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