MySQL addresses open-source license problem

MySQL, an open-source database company, has taken a step to mend a rift in the open-source world by updating a controversial licensing provision that
had broken a close tie between the MySQL database and another software package.

The rift divided MySQL and PHP, software that lets computers construct customized Web pages on the fly. The two packages are found side by side so
often–along with the Linux operating system and the Apache Web server–that there’s an acronym, LAMP, to label the software combination.

On Thursday night, MySQL published a license exception that, the company said, permits PHP to resume its previous practice of bundling MySQL
components called libraries, said Zack Urlocker, MySQL’s vice president of marketing.

MySQL’s exception is “a step in the right direction,” said Andi Gutmans, a PHP creator and vice president of technology for Zend, a company that sells
PHP programming tools. Gutmans also expressed confidence that other remaining issues will be resolved.