Surf Wiki
Save to docs
general/free-and-open-source-software-licenses

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

PHP License

Software license under which the PHP scripting language is released

Software license under which the PHP scripting language is released

FieldValue
namePHP License
version3.01
copyrightThe PHP Group
OSI approvedYes
Debian approvedNo
Free SoftwareYes
GPL compatibleNo
copyfreeNo
copyleftNo

| linking

The PHP License is the open-source license under which the PHP scripting language is released. The PHP License is designed to encourage widespread adoption of the source code. Redistribution is permitted in source or binary form with or without modifications, with some caveats.

Version 3 of PHP used a dual license—PHP 3's source is available under either the PHP License or the GNU General Public License (GPL). This practice was discontinued as of PHP 4, with PHP's developers citing the restrictions on reuse associated with the GPL's copyleft enforcement as being the reason for dropping it. The Zend Engine, the core of the PHP interpreter, is separately licensed under the similar Zend Engine License, which contains similar naming restrictions to the PHP license (applying to the names "Zend" and "Zend Engine"), and a clause requiring advertising materials to mention its use.

Criticism

The PHP License is an open source license according to the Open Source Initiative, and a non-copyleft free software license according to the Free Software Foundation. The license is GPL-incompatible due to restrictions on the usage of the term PHP.

Debian maintainers have had a long-standing discussion (since at least 2005) about the validity of the PHP license. Expressed concerns include that the license "contains statements about the software it covers that are specific to distributing PHP itself", which, for other software than PHP itself therefore would be "false statements".

Debian has a specific policy for the license (and requires a statement in debian/copyright file when it is used): "The PHP license must only be used for PHP and PHP add-ons."

References

References

  1. "Reject FAQ for Debian's NEW-Queue".
  2. (2015-06-23). "Debian -- License information".
  3. "CI: standard > rejected".
  4. "Why is PHP 4 not dual-licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL) like PHP 3 was?". PHP.net.
  5. "Zend License 2.00". Zend Engine: License Information.
  6. "OSI-approved licenses by name". Alphabetized list of open source licenses approved by the Open Source Initiative (OSI).
  7. "PHP License 3.01 (PHP-3.01)". Text of the PHP License 3.01 as approved by the Open Source Initiative (OSI).
  8. "GPL-Incompatible, Free Software Licenses". Free Software Foundation.
  9. (2014-09-09). "Debian concerns".
  10. (August 2016). "Debian position on software licensed under the PHP License".
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

free-and-open-source-software-licenses php
Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about PHP License — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report