mirror of https://github.com/CGAL/cgal
85 lines
3.6 KiB
Plaintext
85 lines
3.6 KiB
Plaintext
/*!
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\page license License
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\cgalAutoToc
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The fact that \cgal is open source software does not mean that users are free
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to do whatever they want with the software. Using the software means to accept
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the license, which has the status of a contract between the user and the owner
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of the \cgal software.
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\cgal is distributed under a dual license scheme, that is under the
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GNU GPL/LGPL open source licenses, as well as under commercial licenses.
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We explain on this page the essence of the different licenses, as well as
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the rationale behind their choice.
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\section licensesGPL GNU GPL
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The GNU GPL is an Open Source license that, if you distribute your software
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based on GPLed \cgal data structures, obliges you to distribute the
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source code of your software under the GPL.
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The exact license terms can be found at the Free Software Foundation
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web site: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html.
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\section licensesLGPL GNU LGPL
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The GNU LGPL is an Open Source license that obliges you to distribute
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modifications you make on \cgal software accessible to the users.
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In contrast to the GPL, there is no obligation to distribute the source
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code of software you build on top of LGPLed \cgal data structures.
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The exact license terms can be found at the Free Software Foundation web site:
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https://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl-3.0.html.
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\section licensesRationale Rationale of the License Choice
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We have chosen the GPL and the LGPL as they are well-known
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and well-understood open source licenses. The former restricts
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commercial use, and the latter allows to promote software as de facto standard
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so that people can build new higher level data structures on top.
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Therefore, the packages forming a foundation layer are distributed under
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the LGPL, and the higher level packages under the GPL.
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The package overview states for each package under which license it is distributed.
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\section licensesCommercial Commercial Licenses
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Users who cannot comply with the Open Source license terms can buy individual
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data structures under various commercial licenses from GeometryFactory:
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https://www.geometryfactory.com/. License fees paid by commercial
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customers are reinvested in R\&D performed by the \cgal project partners,
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as well as in evolutive maintenance.
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\section licenseCheck License Checking
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Users who have a commercial license for specific packages can check that
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they do not accidentally use packages for which they do not have a commercial
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license. The same holds for users who want to be sure that they only
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use packages of \cgal released under the LGPL.
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To enable checking, users have to define one of the following macros:
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| Macro Name | Effect |
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| :--------- | :------ |
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| `CGAL_LICENSE_WARNING` | get a warning during the compilation |
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| `CGAL_LICENSE_ERROR` | get an error during the compilation |
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The license checking is not a mean to control users as no information
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is collected or transmitted.
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\note With `Clang`, paths to CGAL headers shall not be passed with `-isystem` option in order for the warning messages to be emitted.
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\section licensesWhere Determining the license of a CGAL file
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It is specified in each file of the \cgal library which license applies to it.
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The \cgal documentation is distributed under the Creative Commons
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<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">CC BY-NC-ND 2.0</a> License.
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All files that do not have an explicit copyright or license notice (e.g., all
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examples, some demos, data files without a license, ...)
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are distributed under the Creative Commons
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<a href="https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/">CCO 1.0</a> License.
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*/
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