(09-03-2018, 10:52 PM)ciadmin Wrote: A more complete answer, addressing different possible strategies...
Skunkbad is correct - the MIT license is pretty open, just insisting that you keep the license file, with the copyright and permissions.
You can copy/modify it, but only the license/copyright holder can change the license to make the framework code more open or to change subsequent versions to closed-source.
Two different strategies:
- Build your app or framework on top of CodeIgniter, with everything of yours inside "application", and touching nothing inside "system". You can change behavior by providing replacements or enhancements for CI components, inside your "application/core" or "application/library" folders. The MIT license still applies to the framework, i.e. everything in "system", but you can use the license of your choice for everything of yours, and charge what you will for it. CI can be bundled in what you sell.
- Rip apart CI, modifying core functionality; basically make changes inside "system". Any components you keep that come from CI need to retain the license/copyright. If they include changes from your company, then you would add a second copyright line to the license block, but you would not be able to change the license for such components. Any that are only from your company can have the license of your choice.
With the second strategy, it is common practice to "dual license" a product, eg. "Some portions released under the MIT license, and some under the (proprietary?) XYZ license.
If you can keep changes inside "application", then you reap the benefit of being able to easily update the CI core with new releases. If you "rip it apart", then you would have to manually integrate or refit any CI release changes that suited your revised framework.
Several of the other web frameworks have come about by forking CodeIgniter, and then taking "their" framework in different directions. These include Kohana & FuelPHP. They have likely been rewritten from sratch by now, eliminating any CI code, but they started out from our base.
There are lots of possibilities 
Perfect Answer. Thank You for taking the time. That makes things much more clear. Loving Codeigniter over all others still.
