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Oracle seems to license all their Java-related open source code under the GPL with a classpath exceptionGPL with a classpath exception. From what I understand, this seems to allow to combine these libraries with your own code into products that do not have to be covered by the GPL. How does this work? What are examples of how I can and cannot use these classes? Why was this new license used as opposed to the LGPL, which seems to allow for pretty much the same things, but is better established and understood? What are the differences to the LGPL?

  1. How does this work?
  2. What are examples of how I can and cannot use these classes?
  3. Why was this new license used as opposed to the LGPL, which seems to allow for pretty much the same things, but is better established and understood?
  4. What are the differences to the LGPL?

Oracle seems to license all their Java-related open source code under the GPL with a classpath exception. From what I understand, this seems to allow to combine these libraries with your own code into products that do not have to be covered by the GPL. How does this work? What are examples of how I can and cannot use these classes? Why was this new license used as opposed to the LGPL, which seems to allow for pretty much the same things, but is better established and understood? What are the differences to the LGPL?

Oracle seems to license all their Java-related open source code under the GPL with a classpath exception. From what I understand, this seems to allow to combine these libraries with your own code into products that do not have to be covered by the GPL.

  1. How does this work?
  2. What are examples of how I can and cannot use these classes?
  3. Why was this new license used as opposed to the LGPL, which seems to allow for pretty much the same things, but is better established and understood?
  4. What are the differences to the LGPL?
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What does "GPL with classpath exception" mean in practice?

Oracle seems to license all their Java-related open source code under the GPL with a classpath exception. From what I understand, this seems to allow to combine these libraries with your own code into products that do not have to be covered by the GPL. How does this work? What are examples of how I can and cannot use these classes? Why was this new license used as opposed to the LGPL, which seems to allow for pretty much the same things, but is better established and understood? What are the differences to the LGPL?