Am I allowed to use code from SDL_mixer in a new library?

I’m writing an SDL audio library that, at least for me, can replace
SDL_mixer. It has actual floating point mixing in it as well as
resampling and decoding. All the supported formats are in place, but
I’m not familiar with native MIDI on OS X and w32 (currently FluidSynth
is used.) I’d like to borrow the native MIDI code from SDL_mixer.
Would that be OK? I wouldn’t want to step on someone’s toes, since the
library is GPL and I’m also thinking about allowing non-GPL use for
non-commercial purposes and I’m not sure if I’m allowed to do that if I
use code from SDL_mixer.

As long as you use SDL_mixer 2.0 from the Mercurial repository, and
follow the 3 easy zlib License steps in COPYING, you should be okay.
SDL_mixer 1.2 is LGPL, so you’d be restricted to either LGPL or GPL
for any derivative works.On 4 March 2013 09:46, Nikos Chantziaras wrote:

I’m writing an SDL audio library that, at least for me, can replace
SDL_mixer. It has actual floating point mixing in it as well as resampling
and decoding. All the supported formats are in place, but I’m not familiar
with native MIDI on OS X and w32 (currently FluidSynth is used.) I’d like
to borrow the native MIDI code from SDL_mixer. Would that be OK? I wouldn’t
want to step on someone’s toes, since the library is GPL and I’m also
thinking about allowing non-GPL use for non-commercial purposes and I’m not
sure if I’m allowed to do that if I use code from SDL_mixer.


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You can use any of the code from SDL_mixer 2.0 for anything you want, as
long as you comply with the included zlib license.

I removed support for all GPL code from SDL_mixer 2.0 since it’s not
compatible with closed source programs and I didn’t want anybody to
accidentally run afoul of that. You may not use GPL code in closed source
programs, period. I would completely avoid it if you want to allow non-GPL
use.

Also, if you grab the LGPL code from SDL_mixer 1.2, make sure you comply
with the LGPL license.

Cheers!On Sun, Mar 3, 2013 at 5:46 PM, Nikos Chantziaras wrote:

I’m writing an SDL audio library that, at least for me, can replace
SDL_mixer. It has actual floating point mixing in it as well as resampling
and decoding. All the supported formats are in place, but I’m not familiar
with native MIDI on OS X and w32 (currently FluidSynth is used.) I’d like
to borrow the native MIDI code from SDL_mixer. Would that be OK? I
wouldn’t want to step on someone’s toes, since the library is GPL and I’m
also thinking about allowing non-GPL use for non-commercial purposes and
I’m not sure if I’m allowed to do that if I use code from SDL_mixer.

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You can do “almost” whatever you want with the recent SDL_mixer licence,
and yeah, don’t use GPL code in closed source apps.
If you make improvements to the library though, sharing them is much
appreciated.
VittorioOn Mon, Mar 4, 2013 at 2:46 AM, Nikos Chantziaras wrote:

I’m writing an SDL audio library that, at least for me, can replace
SDL_mixer. It has actual floating point mixing in it as well as resampling
and decoding. All the supported formats are in place, but I’m not familiar
with native MIDI on OS X and w32 (currently FluidSynth is used.) I’d like
to borrow the native MIDI code from SDL_mixer. Would that be OK? I
wouldn’t want to step on someone’s toes, since the library is GPL and I’m
also thinking about allowing non-GPL use for non-commercial purposes and
I’m not sure if I’m allowed to do that if I use code from SDL_mixer.

_____________**
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SDL at lists.libsdl.org
http://lists.libsdl.org/**listinfo.cgi/sdl-libsdl.orghttp://lists.libsdl.org/listinfo.cgi/sdl-libsdl.org

Thanks everyone for the answers. I’ll be grabbing the code from
SDL_mixer 2.0 then.

And yes, if I improve the code in any way that would be useful to
SDL_mixer, I’ll send the improvements back this way.

The choice of the GPL is quite conscious, btw, since I’m not making any
kind of income whatsoever from programming. With the GPL I can at least
keep the option open to offer a commercial license in the event that
someone would want to use the library in proprietary software and be
willing to pay something for it :-)On 04/03/13 03:46, Nikos Chantziaras wrote:

I’m writing an SDL audio library that, at least for me, can replace
SDL_mixer. […] I’d like to borrow the native MIDI code from
SDL_mixer. Would that be OK?