Our GPL-licensed components are actively employed in a range of scenarios, from prototypes to educational projects or internal apps. That is why we decided to continue following this strategy and expand the scope of the GPL license to cover other DHTMLX components, including Diagram, Spreadsheet, Vault, Kanban, Pivot, To Do List, RichText Editor, and Booking.
What Does the GPL License Mean for DHTMLX Users
From now on, all key JavaScript UI components included in the DHTMLX product line are distributed under the GNU General Public License v2.0 (GPL v2), excluding the DHTMLX Gantt Community Edition available under the MIT license.
Here is the list of newly added GPL-licensed DHTMLX packages on npm:
We also renewed GPL packages for the Suite library and some of its popular widgets: Grid, Chart, Calendar, and Tree.
Each package includes the instructions on setup and basic usage of the corresponding component. In terms of functionality, the new GPL editions are identical to their commercial counterparts, except for paid versions of DHTMLX Scheduler, Grid, and Chart components empowered by PRO features. In addition, the GPL license grants the right to use the official DHTMLX integration guides for React, Angular, and Vue.
The terms of the GPL license allow modifying the codebase of any package given above, incorporating it into web projects, and redistributing the final solution under the corresponding copyleft rules. The main one of them is a publicly open codebase.
DHTMLX components under the GPL license are well-suited for integrating popular business-oriented features into open-source apps and for thoroughly evaluating the feature sets available in the DHTMLX products. Teams can create fully functional prototypes or MVPs (minimum viable products) to ensure DHTMLX UI tools meet their needs without upfront costs, and then, if needed, easily switch to commercial licensing.
The paid DHTMLX licenses not only extend the list of use cases to closed-source, proprietary, or commercial apps, but also include dedicated technical support from our team. Timely assistance often accelerates the development process and facilitates subsequent maintenance, which is crucial in enterprise-grade projects.
Final Words
By expanding GPL coverage, we want to make DHTMLX tools more accessible to dev teams of any size, thereby contributing to broader adoption and increased community engagement around our products. As a result, we expect to see more feedback about practical experience with DHTMLX appear online, becoming a valuable source of information for further improvement of our JavaScript UI components.