Open Source and Our Mission
Our mission at Quantum Leaps is to bring quantum-leaps of innovation to embedded systems programming. We believe that opening up our software for widespread use and scrutiny of the open source community is the best way of achieving this mission.
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The Open Source Licenses Used
All Quantum Leaps software available for download from this website is released as open source under the GNU General Public License version 2 (GPLv2).
The GPLv2 is probably the best known and most established open source license. It is fully compatible with the Open Source Definition, is endorsed by the Free Software Foundation, and has been approved by the Open Source Initiative (OSI). Software distributed under the GPLv2 can be marked with the OSI certification mark.
Please note that the GPLv2 can be restrictive, so if it doesn't meet your needs, you might consider licensing Quantum Leaps software under different terms of our commercial licenses (dual licensing).
| NOTE: Third-party software mentioned or linked-to from this website might be licensed under different terms. In particular, you should not assume that such software is open source. Please refer to the corresponding owner's websites for the licensing information. |
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Reciprocity of the GPLv2
GPLv2 is an archetypal reciprocal open source license. Here is how GPLv2 formulates the reciprocity requirement:
"You must cause any work that you distribute or publish, that in whole or in part contains or is derived from the Program or any part thereof, to be licensed as a whole at no charge to all third parties under the terms of this License" (GPLv2 Section 2[b]).
The reciprocity of GPLv2 guarantees that the software community will benefit not just from the original Quantum Leaps code, but more importantly, from ever-growing body of applications of our software.
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GPLv2 Applied to Quantum Leaps Software
As Lawrence Rosen explains in his recent book on the subject [Rosen 04], GPLv2 applies to software based not upon how it is linked but upon how it is distributed. Here is the pertinent fragment of GPLv2 Section 2:
If identifiable sections of that work are not derived from the Program, and can be reasonably considered independent and separate works in themselves, then this License, and its terms, do not apply to those sections when you distribute them as separate works. But when you distribute the same sections as part of a whole which is a work based on the Program, the distribution of the whole must be on the terms of this License, whose permissions for other licensees extend to the entire whole, and thus to each and every part regardless of who wrote it.
Thus, it is not the intent of this section to claim rights or contest your rights to work written entirely by you; rather, the intent is to exercise the right to control the distribution of derivative or collective works based on the Program. (GPLv2 Section 2)
In many cases, such as Linux™, these provisions are technically trivial to avoid. For example, by separate downloading and installing Linux applications the question of “distribution as a whole” can be easily sidestepped (so applications are not technically distributed with Linux, at least don’t need to be).
Moreover, GPLv2 Section 10 leaves it up to the copyright holder to provide a guidance regarding the distribution policies. Quoting from the aforementioned book: “Linus Torvalds has set a policy that software that is merely combined with Linux is not subject to the GPLv2 regardless of how that software is distributed”.
However, in the case of Quantum Leaps software and in contrast to Linux, the separate distribution of Quantum Platform (QP) applications is practically impossible, especially when the whole software is distributed inside an embedded system and any separate distribution doesn't make sense. Furthermore, in contrast to Linux and other traditional operating systems and RTOSs, QP applications cannot be “reasonably considered independent” because of the much higher level of reuse that leads to inversion of control between the application and the infrastructure on which it is based. QP applications are typically derived from the Quantum Framework (QF) and follow very easily identifiable patterns down to specification of every state handler. Therefore, the second sentence in the quoted GPLv2 Section 2 fully applies to QP applications, not just to QP itself.
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Quantum Leaps Guidelines for Distributing Dependent Software
GPLv2 Section 10 instructs the licensees to contact the owner of the copyright to the software for guidance regarding the distribution of their programs that depend on the original code.
Our guidelines for distributing any third-party software dependent on Quantum Leaps code are that all such third-party software must also be distributed under the terms of the GPLv2. In other words, applications based on the GPL-version of the Quantum Platform are subject to copyleft.
Such a policy is the cornerstone of the quid pro quo ("something for something") guiding principle behind the dual-licensing business model practiced by Quantum Leaps and all other second-generation open source companies. The policy ensures that the users of the software must either contribute application code to the community (GPLv2 licensees), or contribute licensing revenue to the original software vendor by purchasing commercial licenses (commercial licensees).
Please note that Quantum Leaps has no rights, and does not claim any rights, to the application software developed by third parties, regardless if Quantum Leaps software used in these applications is licensed under the GPLv2 or commercial licenses.
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Evaluating Quantum Leaps Software
The dual license allows interested prospects a pain-free path to application development and testing. Developers experience no business complications in exercising the software in a trial project. The right to use software internally for free, without disclosure of their modifications, is more than a money-back guarantee. Competitively this creates a wide advantage over highly supervised trial licensing practices. [Koening 04].
The open character of Quantum Leaps software allows anybody to evaluate the software under the GPLv2 open source license before purchasing a non-reciprocal commercial license.
Another aspect of dual licensing for the customers is the true ownership of the source code. Because the software is open source, no license manager software installation and maintainence headaches, no dongles, no node-locked licenses are ever necessary.
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Non-Profits, Academic Institutions, and Private Individuals
If you represent a non-profit organization or an academic institution, we recommend you publish your application as an open source software project using the GPLv2 license. Thereby, you'll be able to use Quantum Leaps software free of charge under the GPLv2. We believe that if you have strong reasons to not publish your application in accordance with the GPLv2, you should purchase commercial licenses. Note that non-profit organizations can apply for free commercial licenses, which will be liberally granted.
If you are a private individual you are free to use Quantum Leaps software for your personal applications as long as you do not distribute them. If you distribute our software in any way, you must make a decision between the GPLv2 and the commercial licenses.
Please note that the above rules apply, even if you ship (distribute) a free demo version of your own applications.
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When in Doubt
If you are unsure about your use of our software, we recommend that you buy our royalty-free commercial licenses. That is the safest solution and is never wrong. Thanks to our cost-effective way of producing software, we are able to sell our commercial licenses at prices well under the industry average.
The best way to submit a licensing question is by means of our License Request Form. We encourage you to refer to our Frequently Asked Questions section or a lawyer as appropriate. The final judgment, of course, can be made only by a court of law. With that said, we recommend the commercial license to all commercial and government organizations. This frees you from the broad and strict requirements of the GPLv2 license.
To all open source enthusiasts we recommend our products under the GPLv2 license. We believe that Quantum Leaps open source contribution brings unique benefits to the embedded software community.
Top of pageA Practical Guide to GPL Compliance
![[frdm] Support SFLC](support-sflc.png)
The document A Practical Guide to GPL Compliance published by the Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) provides a guide to effective compliance with the GNU General Public License (GPL) and related licenses.
Download the Guide to GPL Compliance in PDF »
Download the Guide to GPL Compliance in PostScript »
Top of pageNote on Software Piracy
The recent book Embedded Systems Design on a Shoestring by Lewin A.R.D. Edwards (Newness, 2003) contains a timely note concerning software piracy of the open source code. Here is what Lewin Edwards advises:
With the plethora of useful open-source code floating around the Internet, free for the downloading, there might be a temptation simply to download and use whatever you please and assume that nobody will ever know because nobody will ever see your source code. Even ignoring the moral issues, this is suicidal folly. Anything from a disgruntled (or simply talkative) staff member to an interested hacker to a competitor reverse-engineering your product will destroy your company; discovery is inevitable, particularly if your product turns out to be a success. At the time of writing, several major American corporations are writhing in the throes of government investigations into accounting fraud; if your major product contains plagiarized code, discovery will lead to similar consequences. Worse—and this also applies to privately held companies, because it's not just stock price issue—you may be unable to ship any more units without an expensive major re-write of your operating system. Don't take this kind of risk. If you use free code, honor the license."
—Embedded Systems Design on a Shoestring, page 50.
Version: September 02, 2008