Re:OpenBSD 6.4 released
by MaxBarraclough on Sunday October 21, 2018 @06:21AM
(#18267397)
Using the GPL doesn't guarantee you that your project will take over the world. Using a BSD licence doesn't automatically doom your project. But in the case of the Linux kernel, its use of the GPL appears to be the reason for its success - it's not that it always had compelling technical advantages over BSD.
This is Torvalds' idea, not mine [0] (though he doesn't speak to Linux-vs-BSD directly)
> Sure, Sony doesn't give back - but eg Juniper does.
But in aggregate, Linux has taken over the world, and BSD hasn't. The 'snowball' effect is real.
[0] https://www.cio.com/article/3112582/linux/linus-torvalds-say...
Then again, it didn’t help GNU Hurd, or othe GPL-licensed systems. So my guess - given a number of examples - is that it’s not the license that helped Linux.
Licenses don't work like you think they do. In fact, they work backwards: the decision whether to release the source or not doesn't depend on the license, it's the license - and thus the choice of existing software to base your work on - that depends on the decision on whether not to release the source.
BSD makes it possible to release your changes if - and when - you see fit. GPL - doesn't. That's why companies like Sony or Juniper couldn't base their products on Linux. Sure, Sony doesn't give back - but eg Juniper does.