If I create a Ruby implementation, what licenses can I use?

Implementation
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I plan on creating (or at least trying to create) a Ruby implementation of stmd based on the current JavaScript reference.
As such, am I allowed to license my work in anything other than the BSD-style license used for the reference implementation?

Thanks!

2 Likes
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This is a good question. I don’t see why the MIT licence (common in the Ruby community) wouldn’t be okay, but perhaps one of the stmd developers could confirm this?

Related thought: Would it be easier to write a CommonMark gem from scratch or add tests to an existing implementation (Kramdown or GFM) to ensure that it is CommonMark compliant?

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Disclaimer: I’m not a Lawyer.

As long as you only refer to the JavaScript implementation and do not copy anything over to your implementation, you can license your code however you like.

1 Like
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Kramdown might be the easiest way to go.

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If it’s a port then I’d say use the BSD license, hey it’s pretty good anyway. If you use the stmd.js or c implementation purely as a reference then I’d say you’re free to use what you want, but hey, why not BSD (^_^).

For reference, in the implementation I’m working on, in python, I wanted to stick to John’s absolutely great JS parser as close as possible so stuck to the term port and used a BSD license.

1 Like
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Any particular reason? I do like Kramdown and use it for any projects that require Markdown support. The API is clean and the implementation is pure Ruby.

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It provides the best ruby API both for end-users and for developing new markup support.

On top of that it has a good number of non-html outputs.

1 Like
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Yeah, if you do not use any source code from the c or whichever implementation of the markdown, then it is up to you to define the license.