| FSF revises GPLv3 release schedule |
Mar. 26, 2007
More than two years in the making, version 3 of the GNU GPL (general public license) has fallen way behind schedule. Now, the FSF (Free Software Foundation), rather than try to hurry it out, has revised the GPLv3's release schedule, with a goal of finalizing its release by July.
The FSF is well aware that people have been wondering just how much longer this process is going to take. In a statement issued on March 26, Brett Smith, the FSF compliance engineer said, "The second discussion draft of GPLv3 was released eight months ago, in July 2006. We had never planned to let so much time pass between public releases of the license."
The GPLv3 has run late for several reasons, the most important of which, according to FSF executive director Peter Brown, is the trouble caused by the Novell and Microsoft patent deal. "We are researching issues related to potential unintended consequences of the language we plan to adopt. As soon as we are satisfied with the results of our research we plan to bring forward the next draft," said Brown.
The problem with the Microsoft/Novell deal was that it was carefully crafted to not break the GPLv2, which indeed it does not. As the GPL's author, Richard M. Stallman, said not long after the Microsoft-Novell deal became public, "What has happened is, Microsoft has not given Novell a patent license, and thus, section 7 of GPL version 2 does not come into play. Instead, Microsoft offered a patent license that is rather limited to Novell's customers alone."
Smith explained, "We felt it was important to fully discuss a few specific issues, including the recent patent deal between Novell and Microsoft, before proceeding with the process." The problem, according to sources close to the creation of the new GPL, is finding language that can stop such patent agreements in the future, while at the same time avoiding ham-stringing appropriate software patent uses by GPL developers.
Now, it seems, the FSF is set to release a new draft that addresses these issues. Smith said, "A new discussion draft will be released on March 28 at 10:00 AM US Eastern time; it represents the outcome of those discussions, and the rationale document that will accompany it explains how we arrived at these decisions."
This is not, as some had been expecting, a final draft. "However," continued Smith, "we remain absolutely committed to hearing input from as much of the free software community as possible before publishing a final version of the license. We are adjusting the drafting process to make sure that everyone interested has an opportunity to make their voice heard."
"The third discussion draft will be open for comment for sixty days. Based on the feedback we receive during this window, we may publish new language from time to time for additional review. For example, if someone points out a side effect of some term that we hadn't considered before, we may publish updated text for that section aimed at addressing the issue. These changes will be announced on the GPLv3 web site and mailing list," Smith continued.
"We will continue to take feedback from public comments and discussion committees as before. In addition, if there are common questions about the license, we will address those in blog posts on the GPLv3 web site. Our goal is not to preempt discussion or criticism of the draft, but rather to enhance that discussion by helping the community fully understand the text. We are also considering other ways to solicit input, which we will announce as they are planned," Smith added.
Then, "After this discussion period is over, we will publish a last call draft. That draft will be open for comment for thirty days, and the final license will be published shortly afterwards. We would like to thank everyone for their continued support during this process, and their assistance as we work to make the our licenses the best they can be," concluded Smith.
Given this new schedule, the earliest the GPLv3 can be expected to be seen will be in mid-summer 2007. However, since the FSF will not be preempting discussion of the draft and is considering "other ways to solicit input," a final release of the GPLv3 may still prove to be months further into the future.
-- Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
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