[jdom-interest] * Using JDOM In Applet Help Needed

[Dennis Sosnoski]

My personal impression is that Electric XML is a very interesting alternative to
the other document models for use in applets and similar situations where the
very small size can be a big advantage. The license issue definitely bothers me
in recommending it to anyone, though, especially when it needs to be "clarified"
by ongoing interpretations from the copyright holder.

I included a viewable copy of the then-current license linked from the download
page for my test program, in order to make sure people were aware of the
restrictions if they downloaded the binary as part of the test code. Probably
for the next version I'll provide separate downloads with and without EXML.

  - Dennis

Jason Hunter wrote:

> graham glass wrote:
> >
> > electric xml is meant to be an attractive *alternative* to jdom,
> > not a convenient way to improve it!
>
> This should stand as a warning to anyone considering using Electric
> XML.
>
> Do not forget Electric XML is a proprietary product of The Mind
> Electric.  If they for any reason disapprove of your use of the product,
> they can alter the license terms to make your use illegal.
>
> The anti-JDOM clause is *brand new*.  I can still see the old license
> without the clause in Google's cache.  Who knows what clauses will be
> added next?  If your use case isn't restricted today, what about
> tomorrow?
>
> I would advise everyone on this list to think twice and then a third
> time before building anything significant on Electric XML because your
> use rights are so uncertain and subject to change by one commercial
> entity.
>
> I would furthermore encourage any articles or web pages that compare
> Electric XML with alternatives (such as Dennis' web page and James' web
> page) to make prominent note that the license for Electric XML is not
> open source and does not ensure any future use rights to the software
> and that The Mind Electric has a track record of altering the license
> with new restrictions.
>
> -jh-