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OpenLogic survey warm on GPL 3

Stephen Shankland Former Principal Writer
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
Expertise Processors, semiconductors, web browsers, quantum computing, supercomputers, AI, 3D printing, drones, computer science, physics, programming, materials science, USB, UWB, Android, digital photography, science. Credentials
  • Shankland covered the tech industry for more than 25 years and was a science writer for five years before that. He has deep expertise in microprocessors, digital photography, computer hardware and software, internet standards, web technology, and more.
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Stephen Shankland

A survey of open-source programming experts that start-up OpenLogic pays to resolve software troubles has revealed some favorable feelings about the new third draft of the General Public License (GPL).

Of the 45 people who responded, 50 percent said they believed GPL 3 is good for the open-source programming movement. That's not a majority by any stretch of the imagination, but it's three times the 16 percent who said they believed GPL 3 wasn't good for open source. And 30 percent said they weren't sure.

Of those working on projects covered by the current GPL 2, 71 percent said they'd be in favor of moving to GPL 3, and 77 percent said such a move would take a year or less after GPL 3 is released. The final version is expected by the end of June, with a last-call draft due by the end of May.

But there are concerns. Among concerns programmers have for the latest draft, 57 percent pointed to patent issues, 57 percent pointed to digital rights management and 43 percent pointed to issues about using GPL software in devices for consumers, OpenLogic said.

One of the most prominent projects under GPL 2 is the Linux kernel at the heart of the open-source operating system that typically goes by the same name, but Linux leader Linus Torvalds expressed strong displeasure with earlier GPL 3 drafts. .

OpenLogic sells support for collections of open-source software, certifying various combinations.