TDbf License

[Handoko]

This tutorial is about basic database development using the original TDbf component (by Micha Nelissen) with Lazarus which is included in the standard FreePascal distribution.

In Lazarus, the DbfLaz component makes use of the FPC TDbf code.

Source: https://wiki.lazarus.freepascal.org/Lazarus_Tdbf_Tutorial#Overview

I compared the dbf.pas provided from Lazarus installation and the TDbf in SourceForge, they're very similar, so I believe FPC TDbf is a fork of TDbf from https://sourceforge.net/projects/tdbf/files/TDbf%20Win32_Linux/

It is mentioned that FPC TDbf is license under LGPL with linking exception (see img):
Lazarus main menu > Package > Instal/Uninstall packages

But the TDbf in SourceForge is license under LGPL (without linking exception).

As far as I know:
LGPL != LGPL with linking exception

And, forking a software cannot change the LGPL license. So, DbfLaz should also license under LGPL (no linking exception), am I wrong?

Here they said commercial software can use TDbf component (LGPL) either:
- use dynamically loadable library (*.bpl)
- publish object files of your application (*.dcu usually for delphi, with link script)
Source: https://sourceforge.net/p/tdbf/discussion/107245/thread/f353b959/

[marcov]

Note that Micha Nelissen, the maintainer on SF put it in FPC himself, as he was a Lazarus devel. (made the LCL win32 port afaik)

So that should be license change permission for his parts, so the question is if he got permission from the other original author (Pascal Ganaye) to do so.

Note that Micha rewrote large parts of tdbf, so I'm not sure how much original code there is.  I only worked with tdbf for a while when Micha already was a maintainer.

Micha is MIA atm.