1. Alex Wittler
  2. PowerBuilder
  3. Tuesday, 7 March 2023 08:53 AM UTC

If we use the dataWindow.export.pdf.method Distill to save a datawindow as PDF file and we do not deliver Ghostscript with our applicatation, but tell our customers, that they self has to install Ghostscript to use this method, are we than obligated to make available our source code?

Does it make a difference, if we offer other methods to save a datawindow as PDF file to our customers?

In this questions I am not sure after reading the conditons of the AGPL3 license, I read in https://ghostscript.com/licensing/index.html.

Miguel Leeuwe Accepted Answer Pending Moderation
  1. Tuesday, 7 March 2023 10:51 AM UTC
  2. PowerBuilder
  3. # 1

Hi,

I don't know why the licensing has to be so complicated. If I'm not mistaken, the distill method uses "ghostscript". https://ghostscript.com/docs/9.54.0/Commprod.htm 

At the end of that page, there's a link to Artiflex for any questions. My advice is to just contact them and get some clear answers.

regards.

(I do have to say that I've never seen any pb app that uses ghostscript having worried about any licensing :) )

 

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  1. Armeen Mazda @Appeon
  2. Tuesday, 7 March 2023 16:46 PM UTC
Because bait n' switch... they make it impossible for most companies to use their software and instead cough up the moola!
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Roland Smith Accepted Answer Pending Moderation
  1. Tuesday, 7 March 2023 13:20 PM UTC
  2. PowerBuilder
  3. # 2

We have our customers install Ghostscript themselves. We provide instructions on where to get it and how to setup the 'Sybase DataWindow PS' printer.

You could purchase a license from Artiflex and then be able to build it into your installer. Now that there is NativePDF built into PB, that isn't needed.

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  1. Miguel Leeuwe
  2. Tuesday, 7 March 2023 15:20 PM UTC
Thank you for that info Roland!
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  1. Alex Wittler
  2. Wednesday, 8 March 2023 07:59 AM UTC
Thank you. That is the answer, I hoped to get.
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  1. Miguel Leeuwe
  2. Wednesday, 8 March 2023 09:54 AM UTC
Hi, Please mark as resolved/answered.
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Armeen Mazda @Appeon Accepted Answer Pending Moderation
  1. Tuesday, 7 March 2023 16:45 PM UTC
  2. PowerBuilder
  3. # 3

On the Ghostscript licensing page, they summarized the situations you need to share your source code: "Bottom line, if you distribute our software, or make the functionality of the software available to users interacting with it remotely through a computer network, you must share your source code."  

So if you do as Roland suggested that your customers download and install Ghostscript to their own machine, then it should probably avoid issue that you have to open-source your code.  

But I am really weary of AGPL and other non-permissive open-source licenses, so I do like Miguel's suggestion that you work with our support team to reproduce your issue and we determine if it is a bug or feature enhancement required.  Regardless which it is, it is priority at Appeon to keep improving the PDF features, hence our roadmap of introducing the new PDF builder classes in PB 2022 and later.

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