Does Python license permit embedding in commercial product ?

[Tim Peters]

[Russell Turpin]
> This is sort of the opposite case of wanting to sell a program
> written in Python, which clearly is allowed.  Consider a
> commercial product that needs a scripting language.  One
> obvious way to achieve this, which I'm sure all here would
> encourage, is to (a) embed Python in the product, then when
> a script for the product is invoked to (b) create a code object
> from the script, (c) bind Python variables to appropriate
> internal state, (d) execute the code object, and (e) update
> internal state from Python variables.
>
> All of this can be done without modifying Python's source
> code. (I hope. I haven't actually tried this, but the principle
> seems clear.) The question is whether doing so infringes on
> Python's license, given that the product is commercially sold,
> and maybe even some of the scripts subsequently provided. My
> naive reading is that this is OK. But I thought I would seek
> the broader opinion here.

Not all Python distributions carry the same license.  The licenses on the
PythonLabs distributions allow you to modify Python, although licenses on
recent PythonLabs distributions require you then to "include in any such
work a brief summary of the changes" (whatever that means -- we inherited
this clause from CNRI, and *believe* we fulfill it via the NEWS file).

> (Obviously, if we do extend Python in any way, we'll release
> *that* code.

That isn't required, but is appreciated.

> But that's not currently in the plans.)

It will be <wink>.