Thank you! Regarding iText:

When using Maven, because of the move, the version actually downloaded
as a dependency is the one from com.lowagie under MPL1.1 (The old one
does not have a license specified at all on mvnrepository)
So this only applies to using Maven and not when downloading MASON from
the website.

However, I think the MPL1.1 should be compatible. According to section
6, anything published under MPL1.1 can also be used under MPL2.0, which
is a very weak copyleft license and allows redistribution of combined
works (i.e. works, where the code is used as a library), under (almost)
any license.


On Sun, 2021-11-14 at 00:00 -0500, MASON-INTEREST-L automatic digest
system wrote:
> There are 2 messages totalling 243 lines in this issue.
> 
> Topics of the day:
> 
>   1. Licensing for an Extension to MASON (2)
> 
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> -
> 
> Date:    Sat, 13 Nov 2021 14:51:35 +0000
> From:    Justin Noah Kreikemeyer <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Licensing for an Extension to MASON
> 
> Hi Sean,
> 
> > Licensing
> 
> Thank you for the helpful clarification! I opted for the Apache-2.0
> license. I think there is no version 3.0 yet.
> The dependency distributed under MPL 1.1 is iText:1.2.3, which was
> moved to com.lowagie and later to com.itextpdf (see mvnrepository).
> However, since version 4.2.2 and on their website, they seem to use
> the
> AGPL 3.0.
> 
> > Extension
> 
> I will keep the code in a separate repo for now, as it is easier for
> me
> to maintain. You can find it on GitHub (justinnk/mason-ssa, also see
> the link in my first message, which got masked). If you need a short
> description: 
> 
> "This extension provides facilities to simulate models via
> (optimized)
> stochastic simulation algorithms, like the Next Reaction Method. Its
> key feature is the support for automatic dependency-tracking using an
> aspect-oriented approach."
> 
> Kind Regards,
> Justin
> 
> On Sat, 2021-11-13 at 00:01 -0500, MASON-INTEREST-L automatic digest
> system wrote:
> > There are 2 messages totalling 107 lines in this issue.
> > 
> > Topics of the day:
> > 
> >   1. Licensing for an Extension to MASON (2)
> > 
> > -------------------------------------------------------------------
> > --
> > -
> > 
> > Date:    Fri, 12 Nov 2021 12:26:53 +0000
> > From:    Justin Noah Kreikemeyer
> > <[log in to unmask]>
> > Subject: Licensing for an Extension to MASON
> > 
> > Hi,
> > 
> > Background: The work on my bachelors thesis resulted in an
> > extension
> > to
> > the MASON framework, which enables using (efficient) stochastic
> > simulation algorithms in an ABM context. I finished my thesis and
> > want
> > to make the extension open-source. You can find it on
> > GitHub: 
> > https://secure-web.cisco.com/1VLJtB7taajA7NU7_z_nAHa0I644MNtO1b6RI65r5QXp9-LJYONEsLxaQVZ8CjErXtpU1LJYrnMOM2T3GavZxWB_eKK3GLByXp4TXaAlzMkI2VmdZ4lzySHOU638dMu-emTE4TthIxY5do7RZsqfkvBvmaQIITY6Y0hiCJB8lNqe64q4KMfnZMfO6NKllq_ZHOFZz-fYIoTPJWVxtIXmviHzi4-J3XcxXPZ8sWS13KGl3DoqFZc2BnH7_5YdWUVpgYluINyMLLsnHWfMxHk3040Ql0D_QWbbPhQ7aEWVGkYKWyp3cKsprBX_HrbQqBrvDW0890jBcUzMe0KxRulbG7XwjkQEvZGkP3KEKnqcVemTcNh75TROJAzvwztP-bHOvQQhL0nJf8KLQhk-ZVKl3xAz7eOgQsw3VN7w15_4VwmWduaUeXEoxO1KkQKJ5WgY3-ni2F40-3iA9vxDz--V1iQ/https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Fjustinnk%2Fmason-ssa
> > . I am still working on
> > adding more documentation/the complete thesis. There is also a
> > paper
> > coming up on the WSC2021 if you're interested.
> > 
> > While I prepared the GitHub repository, a few questions came up:
> > 
> > 1) Why has there been no release to the maven central repository
> > since
> > version 14.0 of MASON? Would it be possible to release the newest
> > version? This would make installing it a lot easier (automatic).
> > 
> > 2) As this is my first open-source project, I did a lot of research
> > on
> > licensing. I was shocked how confusing the situation regarding
> > license
> > compatibility is. I think, the AFL 3.0 might be a good choice for
> > an
> > extension, as MASON itself is licensed under AFL 3.0 too.
> > However, I am wondering whether further obligations apply to me,
> > since
> > MASON uses quite a few dependencies, distributed under a myriad of
> > licenses, which might be incompatible (LGPL, MPL, ...). Especially,
> > in
> > the case where I distribute a .jar of demo models, which contains
> > all
> > those dependencies to be runnable.
> > Making things even more complicated, through AspectJ, I modify the
> > MASON code automatically at compile-time (right now this applies to
> > the
> > Bag, Network, Edge, Steppable and MersenneTwister classes). But I
> > guess
> > this is supported by the AFL license/BSD license for the RNG...
> > Judging from the website and mailing list archive, there has been
> > some
> > work put into license compatibility, so maybe you could clarify the
> > situation for me.
> > 
> > 3) Would you consider adding the extension to the list on your
> > website?
> > Right now it is more of a prototype, meaning it works if you know
> > what
> > you do, but I intend to put some more work in to making it more
> > robust
> > and adding documentation.
> > 
> > Kind regards,
> > Justin
> > 
> > PS.: To the developers of MASON: Thank you for the great framework
> > and
> > the extensive documentation! It really supported me completing my
> > B.Sc.
> > 
> > ------------------------------
> > 
> > Date:    Fri, 12 Nov 2021 07:56:06 -0500
> > From:    Sean Luke <[log in to unmask]>
> > Subject: Re: Licensing for an Extension to MASON
> > 
> > On Nov 12, 2021, at 7:26 AM, Justin Noah Kreikemeyer
> > <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> > 
> > > 1) Why has there been no release to the maven central repository
> > > since
> > > version 14.0 of MASON? Would it be possible to release the newest
> > > version? This would make installing it a lot easier (automatic).
> > 
> > Maven support was something handled at length by my students; but
> > with covid and a different project for developing MASON, it dropped
> > off.  I don't use maven at all and don't even know how to build for
> > it, so it'll have to be someone else handling that.  [In truth,
> > maven
> > is such a pain to build for that we've given serious thought to its
> > value at all].
> > 
> > > 2) As this is my first open-source project, I did a lot of
> > > research
> > > on
> > > licensing. I was shocked how confusing the situation regarding
> > > license
> > > compatibility is. I think, the AFL 3.0 might be a good choice for
> > > an
> > > extension, as MASON itself is licensed under AFL 3.0 too.
> > > However, I am wondering whether further obligations apply to me,
> > > since
> > > MASON uses quite a few dependencies, distributed under a myriad
> > > of
> > > licenses, which might be incompatible (LGPL, MPL, ...).
> > > Especially,
> > > in
> > > the case where I distribute a .jar of demo models, which contains
> > > all
> > > those dependencies to be runnable.
> > > Making things even more complicated, through AspectJ, I modify
> > > the
> > > MASON code automatically at compile-time (right now this applies
> > > to
> > > the
> > > Bag, Network, Edge, Steppable and MersenneTwister classes). But I
> > > guess
> > > this is supported by the AFL license/BSD license for the RNG...
> > > Judging from the website and mailing list archive, there has been
> > > some
> > > work put into license compatibility, so maybe you could clarify
> > > the
> > > situation for me.
> > 
> > Ultimately there are two kinds of licenses: viral licenses (GPL
> > etc.)
> > and academic licenses (BSD, AFL, Apache, MIT).  LGPL licenses, when
> > used in the way MASON uses them, generally fit in the academic
> > category.  [Let me know which library MASON is using that's MPL:
> > we'll have to deal with that.]  
> > 
> > MASON avoids viral licenses so as to broaden its applicability
> > everywhere.  This means that if you're developing something that
> > MASON will be relying on, it *must not* be viral.  If you're
> > building
> > something on top of MASON, as I think you are, you can do as you
> > please.
> > 
> > MASON's original license was AFL, but that's pretty archaic at this
> > point.  If you're just starting building an open source tool on
> > MASON, I would strongly suggest that you use Apache 3.0.  That's
> > what
> > I use for all new software.  As an academic and research developer
> > I
> > would strongly suggest you do *not* use GPL.
> > 
> > 
> > > 3) Would you consider adding the extension to the list on your
> > > website?
> > > Right now it is more of a prototype, meaning it works if you know
> > > what
> > > you do, but I intend to put some more work in to making it more
> > > robust
> > > and adding documentation.
> > 
> > Sure.  You have two main options.
> > 
> > 1. You maintain the code yourself, at your own location, and we put
> > a
> > link to it on MASON's website.
> > 
> > 2. I give you access to MASON's contrib directory, where you'd
> > maintain and store your project.  To do this (1) the project should
> > be in pretty good shape and (2) should generally follow MASON
> > style,
> > including documentation and (if it's not too much of a pain) its
> > unusual brace style.
> > 
> > Sean
> > 
> > ------------------------------
> > 
> > End of MASON-INTEREST-L Digest - 11 May 2021 to 12 Nov 2021 (#2021-
> > 10)
> > *******************************************************************
> > **
> > *
> > 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Date:    Sat, 13 Nov 2021 19:40:25 -0500
> From:    Sean Luke <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Licensing for an Extension to MASON
> 
> > On Nov 13, 2021, at 9:51 AM, Justin Noah Kreikemeyer
> > <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> > 
> > Thank you for the helpful clarification! I opted for the Apache-2.0
> > license. I think there is no version 3.0 yet.
> 
> Typo.  I meant 2.0.
> 
> > The dependency distributed under MPL 1.1 is iText:1.2.3, which was
> > moved to com.lowagie and later to com.itextpdf (see mvnrepository).
> > However, since version 4.2.2 and on their website, they seem to use
> > the
> > AGPL 3.0.
> 
> IIRC, the version of iText that MASON provides is pre-MPL.
> 
> > I will keep the code in a separate repo for now, as it is easier
> > for me
> > to maintain. You can find it on GitHub (justinnk/mason-ssa, also
> > see
> > the link in my first message, which got masked). If you need a
> > short
> > description: 
> > 
> > "This extension provides facilities to simulate models via
> > (optimized)
> > stochastic simulation algorithms, like the Next Reaction Method.
> > Its
> > key feature is the support for automatic dependency-tracking using
> > an
> > aspect-oriented approach."
> 
> Thanks!  Will try to link it in.
> 
> Sean
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> End of MASON-INTEREST-L Digest - 12 Nov 2021 to 13 Nov 2021 (#2021-
> 11)
> *********************************************************************
> *
>