Lit Review 1: Comprehensive GPL Guide - Chapter 1

The Comprehensive GPL Guide is rather long guide on all things GPL, but Chapter 1 is what we are interested in.

Who:

The GPL Guide was written by Bradley M. Kuhn, Anthony K. Sebro Jr., and Denver Gingerich

What:

A guide to what exactly is Software Freedom

Where:

You can find the Comprehensive GPL guide here.

When:

The GPL Guide was last updated in 2014, though the document itself doesn't specify when.

The Gist:

Software Freedom is important and it is important to know what that entails. Chapter 1 goes into everything that that means.

The Good:

• Good at introducing the concept of Free Software
• Talked a fair portion about the difference between Free and Public
• Introduced the philosophy behind the GPL

The Bad:

• Few examples of licenses in action
• While it explains freedom itself, it doesn't go into anything else at all.

Any Questions?

• License compatibility?
• Are there licenses which prevent sale period

In Conclusion:

This serves as an interesting document, mostly because it helps illustrate a key point of contention that most people don't understand about Free and Open Source Software. For that alone, it is noteworthy. While it tries to have a sense of humor about the subject a little, it is still a fairly dry read, but that is to be expected. Overall, 7/10.