#StandWithUkraine

Can I use code with license X in project with license Y ?

A while back Simon asked me to explain my preference for MIT license (as opposed to GPL) for my projects and keep it civil.

Despite the hardship of latter condition, I managed to put together illustration of how popular software licenses play with each other (or don’t).

Compatibility of licenses

code
GPLv2+GPLv2GPLv3MITBSDApache v2
projectGPLv2+yesnonoyesyesno
GPLv2yesyesnoyesyesno
GPLv3yesnoyesyesyesyes
MITnononoyesyesyes
BSDnononoyesyesyes
Apache v2nononoyesyesyes

TL;DR

I prefer MIT because it has affinity for code to drift around, without strings attached. GPL doesn’t play well with other licenses, including the different versions of itself.

I have projects which I can’t release sources of, because of GPL compatibility issues. Sad panda.

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