“In a move that should eliminate a major criticism of KDE as a
development platform, Trolltech announced today that it is
licensing the upcoming free version of Qt/Unix 2.2 under the GPL
(GNU General Public License). Developers will have the option of
using the open-source version of Qt 2.2 under either the QPL (Q
Public License) or GPL license, depending on their licensing
requirements.”
“With the release of the free edition of Qt 2.2, developers of
free software can use Trolltech’s GUI application framework for
free. Any software produced with Qt under the GPL license, and any
derivatives of this software, must also be released under the GPL.
Any user who wishes to create proprietary or closed-source software
must first purchase a development license from Trolltech….”
“‘On a practical basis, we hope it will make it easier to
choose Qt for development projects, while eliminating the political
side,’ Eng said. ‘Apart from that, it won’t change much. We don’t
feel that the GPL gives you any more or fewer rights than the QPL.
Now people can choose Qt for open source development without any
licensing concerns.’“