Visual Query Creating Tool for Lazarus - ported Open QBuilder by Fast Report

[jepafi]

I do not know if someone had already done, but converted the Visual Open Query Builder (Open Source) by Fast Reports. I created a component enginer for connection with ZEOS (if anyone does not first go to create a binding to SQLdb). Therefore, you can use any database supported by Zeos.

Link: https://github.com/jepafi/Laz_Query_Builder

See the tool operating on the attached image!

[paco.penin]

Great, thank's

[BigChimp]

Quite nice - I'd definitely be interested in a SQLDB port.

However, license.txt is very unclear to me:
https://github.com/jepafi/Laz_Query_Builder/blob/master/license.txt

The Open QBuilder is freeware.

Ok, that's good.

The Open QBuilder may be freely distributed, provided the
distribution package is not modified.

So, does this mean you may not alter the source code?!?!? or what is the "distribution package"? The resulting .ppu/Delphi binary package?
Extremely weird...

This part seems to clarify things:

This license is not distributed to the distribution packages
created with the Open QBuilder. You may freely dispose of your
distribution packages.

... so "distribution packages" are the compiled code as created by the compiler, right?

Mmmm, going to Fast Reports:
http://www.fast-report.com/en/product/open-query-builder/

Fast Reports, Inc., by agreement with the original author, declares this adaptation of Open Qbuilder (for the newest versions of Delphi and C++Builder) and any further developments therefrom, to be open source.

and also encouraging:

You can create new TOQBEngine descendants to work with any Dataset-oriented sources (for example - OCI engine etc.). If you create your own OQBEngineXXX - contact us to share it with the Delphi and C++Builder developers community. We will place your engine on our web site. Please save the style of your engine-component's .dcr-icons and deploy your components as freeware with full source code.

The license of the open query builder version downloadable on the FastReports site is the same as that included in jepafi's repository.

However, this still leaves me with questions:
1. What licenses (GPL, MIT, BSD) is the license compatible with?
2. Can I modify openquery and distribute it without distributing source (needed if it is included in a MIT or BSD licensed program)
3. Is it compatible with modified LGPL so it can be used in Lazarus?

Regards,
BigChimp

[Ask]

This is a typical case of "free as in speech" vs. "free as in beer" distinction.

Note that "free software" is a shorthand for the former, while "freeware" is shorthand for the latter.

This license explicitly prohibits selling and modifying source, so it is incompatible with any GPL/LGPL version.
Moreover, the person who did the port is in violation of the license,
so until copyright holders explicitly agree, I would remove the port from public repository.

[BigChimp]

This is a typical case of "free as in speech" vs. "free as in beer" distinction.

Agreed.

Note that "free software" is a shorthand for the former, while "freeware" is shorthand for the latter.

Depends on whether you include "freeware" as a subset of "free software" in your definition...
Sometimes people use these terms in a way that is not acceptable to the "purists"... which doesn't help the clarity of the discussion.
I'm not sure at all the license writers intended this shorthand. See below.

(OT: Personnally, I don't like the way there's some kind of artificial distinction between "free" and "free" in those terms above but I recognize it's an English language problem regarding & I do acknowledge the usefulness of the shorthand - *if* everybody agrees on definitions)

This license explicitly prohibits selling and modifying source, so it is incompatible with any GPL/LGPL version.

Well, I'm not sure it actually prohibits modifying source due to the ambiguity with what "distribution package" means: source, binary, or both!?!? especially as the web site quoted explicitly encourages modifications.

To be honest, I think people may have just inserted the "this is freeware" line inside an existing license which doesn't really help.

I'll ask the FastReport people and post back if I hear something.

[BigChimp]

Oh:

This license explicitly prohibits selling and modifying source,

well... depends.

"The Open QBuilder may be freely distributed, provided the
distribution package is not modified. No person or company may
charge a fee for the distribution of Open QBuilder without written
permission from the copyright holder."
"You   may  not sell,  modify,[..] except  as  provided  for in this agreement"...
Agreed that this says you may not charge a fee => inclusion in GPL etc code is out.

Regarding source modifications: that depends on what "distribution package" means exactly. The term "distribution package" is used in another part of the license to apparently mean "compiled binary code", not the zip with the source.

[BigChimp]

Arggh, the binary installer puts this in a setup.exe screen before showing the same license as the source zip:

About using OQBuilder in your projects
--------------------------------------

Open QBuilder and another my tools and components are freeware.
I can't provide the technical support for these tools, but you have all
source code and you can modify it without restriction for any non-commercial
projects.

Please, let me know if you want to use my software in your commercial projects
by e-mail: support@fast-report.com
with tool name in a message subject.

... which does imply modification is ok... but then the selling clause in license.txt that Ask noticed still precludes inclusion into e.g. Lazarus...

[jepafi]

Look at the Help file folder QBuilder.chm provided by Fast Report. In part it says:
"
Open QBuidler is the Next Generation of QBuilder

The Open QBuilder is the next generation of well-known QBuilder dialog-component.The main difference between OQBuilder and QBuidler is following:

QBuilder was designed as a monolitic BDE-oriented component for visual query creating. Of course, QBuilder contained all source code and the Marathon (the SQL Tool for Interbase) was a good example of adopting QBuilder to BDE-independent tools.
"
At the end of the help file, find, too, that read: "Enjoy OQBuilder and let me know if you include it in your software."

You can see a picture of the Marathon project that uses a modified version of OQBuilder and uses the MPL.

More information can be found on the project website: http://www.alanti.net/firebird/marathon/

This is a typical case of "free as in speech" vs. "free as in beer" distinction.

Note that "free software" is a shorthand for the former, while "freeware" is shorthand for the latter.

This license explicitly prohibits selling and modifying source, so it is incompatible with any GPL/LGPL version.
Moreover, the person who did the port is in violation of the license,
so until copyright holders explicitly agree, I would remove the port from public repository.

[theo]

but converted the Visual Open Query Builder (Open Source) by Fast Reports.

Great!
Thank you

[teos]

Oh:

This license explicitly prohibits selling and modifying source,

well... depends.

"The Open QBuilder may be freely distributed, provided the
distribution package is not modified. No person or company may
charge a fee for the distribution of Open QBuilder without written
permission from the copyright holder."
"You   may  not sell,  modify,[..] except  as  provided  for in this agreement"...
Agreed that this says you may not charge a fee => inclusion in GPL etc code is out.

Regarding source modifications: that depends on what "distribution package" means exactly. The term "distribution package" is used in another part of the license to apparently mean "compiled binary code", not the zip with the source.

@BigChimp: the distribution package: Open query builder originally came with a setup. The Distribution package is that setup.
so you can do what you want with the code but you cannot (may not) modify the setup.

I think the statement "available as open source" on the website says it all.

[BigChimp]

@teos: thanks! Yes, I suspected the distribution package was the binary.

... but no, I don't think "available as open source" says it all - too many inconsistencies as outline above, and too many definitions of/variants of "open source".
I did ask the fastreport people about this and they opened a ticket; hopefully we'll get clarification on this though (I do think the original devs had very generous intentions releasing this as open source).

[jepafi]

Recently asked the following questions to Fast-report on the Open Query Builder I converted to Lazarus:
"
I created a modified version of the Open Query Builder to compile in Lazarus. It's working perfectly, with all the resources in Windows and Linux GTK2 and QT. Also I created an enginer to connect with a suite of components ZEOS.

Download: http://github.com/jepafi/Laz_Query_Builder/archive/master.zip

I wonder if you have any objections to what I did? And what you allow me to the with the modified code? Can I use the code converted to Lazarus in commercial software?
"
The response of Den Zubov was:
"
Hello,
We do not have any objections it's an open source software you can use it whatever you want.
"

The Open Query Builder will be part of JPDB Admin: http://lazarus.freepascal.org/index.php/topic,20667.0.html

@teos: thanks! Yes, I suspected the distribution package was the binary.

... but no, I don't think "available as open source" says it all - too many inconsistencies as outline above, and too many definitions of/variants of "open source".
I did ask the fastreport people about this and they opened a ticket; hopefully we'll get clarification on this though (I do think the original devs had very generous intentions releasing this as open source).

[snorkel]

How difficult would this be to adapt to a generic tdataset interface?

i.e. for example I use a commercial PostgreSQL lib from Devart on Lazarus as it does not require libpq.dll

I guess what I mean is making it work with a datasource so it would work with SQLDB that comes with Lazarus or any other tdataset based lib.

[BigChimp]

"
Hello,
We do not have any objections it's an open source software you can use it whatever you want.
"

Great! I had raised a ticket in their support system with a similar question but don't think I got any response...

[jepafi]

"
Hello,
We do not have any objections it's an open source software you can use it whatever you want.
"

Great! I had raised a ticket in their support system with a similar question but don't think I got any response...

To view the request visit link:
http://support.fast-report.com/tickets/260019?key=4f6db20d1c96007