Branching off at v6.01.6

With the recent announcements at php-fusion.co.uk about a move to version 7 rather than version 6.02 we have decided to freeze development of mods and infusions. The workload and support required to keep up with multiple versions is too great and unproductive.

We could have opted to spend more time on developing and eliminating bugs in existing mods but there is little point, with an OVERWRITE which is likely to break several of them, on the way.

As announced here some time ago, there are a couple of mega mods on the horizon. This has not changed. Unfortunately these mods are not compatible with the new Affero GPL licensing that is being introduced into PHP-Fusion.

A webmaster should aim to build his website on a rock, so careful consideration should be given to any reliance on mods and infusions introduced into your CMS. If you aim to follow the PHP-Fusion upgrade path then you should probably hang back, not install any major mods and wait to see what is happening on that front.

For us, much of the fun in working with a CMS lies in modifying it and tweaking it to suit our/user needs. In practice we don't subscribe to 'don't touch the core' but we are also happy to suffer the consequences. Branching off at v6.01.6 gives us the freedom to continue development projects without worrying about breakages in the future.

Open source development can be a thank-less task, so we want to be clear, this isn't a knock at the PHP-Fusion development team or the direction that is being taken, in fact we extend our thanks to them: "Thank you".

So what happens at TWB now? Business as usual: Articles, scripts and open source mods that show you how to create websites and ways to develop, market and maintain them!

Comments

muscapaul on February 14 2007 07:54:51
I wonder. I think you can put your own license on you mods and infusions. The only problem that may arise is if you have to modify core files and want to distribute modified core files in your packages. I guess yoy then have to give a detailed instruction on how to edit core files. Otherwise I do not see why you could not use GPL. After all, it is possible to develop your own infusions, mods and themes and make these available for a fee as long as you do not include any PHP-Fusion core.

Len Johnson on February 15 2007 05:50:46
@muscapaul - I think you are right on all counts. I don't want unecessary work and will be using some GPL v2 licensed core code which as the Affero faq states "is not compatible with AGPL".

Len Johnson on February 22 2007 00:02:25

AGPL and lots of new code have disappeared from PHPF CVS - can anybody in the know tell us: what's cooking?

muscapaul on February 22 2007 19:03:12
Dunno. I have not been keeping an eye on the CVS. I can see if I can find out.

muscapaul on February 22 2007 20:46:15
Found out: Digitanium is separating the v6 versions from the v7 versions. A new CVS will be compiled for v7 and compilation is currently underway. AGPL will also be implemented from v7.

Len Johnson on February 22 2007 21:07:51
Thanks muscapaul - I thought my losing the plot had grown to new heights.

Sheldon on February 27 2007 15:54:28
Len: An official statement, all mods / themes / whatever they may be no matter what license they are under are compatible with PHP Fusion's AGPL license. The only thing that must be taken into account is that its either a form of an approved Open Source License from the OSI (http://www.opensource.org/licenses/) or it is a personal/commercial license under which the original author has made publicly available. In any case if it is publicly available a copy of the license (gpl.txt or agpl.txt) must be provided with the download.

Len Johnson on March 01 2007 23:22:00
Thanks for the input Sheldon. I was referring to Affero GPL. Will PHPF have it's own version? If not, as muscapual touched on, Affero GPL mandates that publically released modifications be released under the SAME license (AGPL 2[b]). Not always possible or desirable for mod developers.

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