When you write a PHP script and want to distribute it, it must still fall under some legal terms. The GNU GPL is the best method to get your work out into the world, and of course as open source software

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Beginer Tutorials
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So, you've managed to write your first "useful" PHP script, and want to make it open source, let the world enjoy your work. But however you decide to use your scripts, as long as you use them publically, they need a LICENSE, since no software falls outsite the bounds of international law.

Your have multiple licensing options - if you want to make some money (and your script or application is really useful and truly fit for a particular purpose), you may launch your script as commercialware, hence people should pay to use your application. Or you may make it shareware, allowing anyone to use a slightly restricted version of your software, and if anyone feels your software fits his purposes, he may pay for the full version. Another option would be freeware, which means you'd release your software freely, allowing anyone to use it at no charge.

We'll start from the premise that you won't make people pay for your work, so you'd think "freeware is for me!", but you would be wrong, since freeware means free use of the software, without allowing anyone except yourself to modify it. Think of it like this: writing a Content Management System and your users not being allowed to even change your basic logo to their own.

Well, the solution, invented over about 10 years ago, is called open source. Open Source means that your software is entirely free for use, to anyone, and any user may modify the software to fit his own needs. To launch an open source application, you have to apply the GNU GPL License.

"GNU GPL" is an acronym for "GNU General Public License", while "GNU" itself is a concept invented by the "Free Software Foundation", and is a recursive acronym meaning "GNU's Not Unix" - it was initially invented to license the Original open source software - Linus Torvald's Linux operating system, back in 1991. Since then the GNU has been supporting free open source software, from the world renouned Linux to simple applications - like PHP scripts.

Software that is licensed under the GNU GPL is distributed free of charge to everyone, usually as source files, and any user may modify it's contents, excluding the copyright notices - thus nobody may "steal" your work. Any modified versions may also be released but under the conditon that even the modified version of the software is still copyrighted to the original writer, and the user that modified it should add himself to the license (so that you won't be blamed if someone turns your software into a virus or such).

The GPL also makes sure any user can't sue you if your program damages their system, or for any other matter. Any GPL'd software is provided "as is", without any warranty. This means that the user makes use of your software at his own risk.

Also, take note - nobody can incorporate your code into a non-open source software. So that if you write some PHP classes and GPL them, nobody will be allowed to make use of your classes unless the resulting software is also GPL'd. This can be worked around by using the LGPL, which stands for the Lesser GPL. This means that any software LGPL'd may be included in commercial software, as long as it's mentioned in the final program's copyright notice. But since there's little use for the LGPL in PHP, we won't take it any further.

If you want to learn more about how to release your script under the GNU GPL, post below, and ill do a little write up.