Comments on: Ext JS 2.1 Released

By: dovie

dovie — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:22:48 +0000

Let me ask you this. I think I Read somewhere that apps that load extjs are also expected to be released under OSS licenses, and source code released… Does that mean that if we use http://www.jsloader.com to load the ext libraries, and jsloader.com is OSS’d, that it would satisfy this need?

By: jdupont092

jdupont092 — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 13:57:51 +0000

Be careful !
Jack Slocum (creator of Extjs) now pretends that even 2.0.x versions of the library WERE NOT LGPL, but a mixing between proprietary, commercial and pseudo-open source but not free patchwork !

Please have a look on the forum :
http://extjs.com/forum/showthread.php?p=157744#post157744

He pretends the library HAS NEVER BEEN released under the terms of LGPL licence. It seems to be a developper trap…

Consider NOT to use this library, they change their license when they want…

By: posure

posure — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:53:18 +0000

Well..if there’s any library that deserves the money, its Ext. Still, the switch to GPL makes a huge difference (who knows, maybe they were just waiting for Ext to penetrate before dropping the bomb forcing every company to pay for it). I’d have to expect that Ext 2.0.2 is going to be around for a while, I wouldn’t be able to afford a license for personal projects and I’m not releasing my source under GPL (although I’d probably release it under another license).

By: pabs

pabs — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 01:12:06 +0000

ptwobrussell: Thank you, that link was extremely insightful. Unfortunate for me, but still insightful.

By: ptwobrussell

ptwobrussell — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 21:55:46 +0000

And let’s not forget… =)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Ext_%28javascript_library%29

http://mjg59.livejournal.com/84586.html

By: pabs

pabs — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:46:49 +0000

Aimos: It’s not a matter of money. What I’m concerned about is non-GPL Open Source software. The LGPL is compatible with the MIT and BSD licenses because it lacks the viral clause. I’m a fan of Ext and would like to continue using it, but I may not be able to use the newer versions because of the licensing change. As I said in my Ext forum post, Ext is a fantastic library and the developers are certainly entitled to profit from their work and to release their software under any license they see fit; it would just be a shame if I had to look for alternatives due to a license incompatibility.

By: Aimos

Aimos — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:54:59 +0000

@pabs: If you just play with ExtJS you can do it at home, nobody will get harmed. If you make money with that, why not buy that licence too. If you have clients you can forward these costs to them, because I think they would understand that this is a plus for them too.

By: pabs

pabs — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:03:31 +0000

Because the GPL is viral. The LGPL is not. If you were writing an application using the BSD license or the LGPL license and wanted to use Ext, you could do so under the old license without making any chances. Under the new license you would need to re-license your application under the GPL license. A lot of people, including me, avoid using GPL-licensed libraries for exactly this reason.

By: jdalton

jdalton — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:54:36 +0000

Why is this license change bad? If you are making money with your product and its gui is using Ext why not pay for a license. Good work guys keep it up.

By: Les

Les — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:31:09 +0000

It’s kind of interesting that no Ext books are being published. Almost all other major toolkits/frameworks have some books published (e.g. jQuery, Prototype, Dojo, MooTools).

By: ArthurBlake

ArthurBlake — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:26:43 +0000

Well, you can still use ExtJS 2.0.2.
And if enough people are really this upset, we might be seeing a fork…

By: bobmanc

bobmanc — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:21:34 +0000

The license change id HUUUUGE!!!!!!!!

Why would anyone, anywhere, ever want GPL instead of LGPL especially GPL v3. This means my project will have to change to DOJO now. This is EXTREMELY upsetting. I feel totally screwed.

By: ArthurBlake

ArthurBlake — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:36:29 +0000

A lot of people are upset about this BIG (IMHO) change…

http://extjs.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33096

By: pabs

pabs — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:30:51 +0000

Unfortunately they also changed the license from LGPL to GPL. Something to be aware of…