Yes, lxml can be used in commercial projects. lxml is a powerful and Pythonic binding for the C libraries libxml2 and libxslt. It is compatible with various XML standards, including XPath, XSLT, and the XML Schema.
As for its license, lxml is distributed under the BSD license, which is a permissive open-source license. This type of license allows the software to be freely used, modified, and distributed, including in proprietary commercial applications, as long as the conditions of the BSD license are met.
The BSD license does not have many restrictions, unlike GPL licenses, which require derivative works to also be open-source. The primary requirements of the BSD license are the preservation of the copyright notice and disclaimers in the redistributed code or in the documentation of the distributed application.
Here is a simplified version of the conditions typically found in a BSD license:
- Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions, and the following disclaimer.
- Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions, and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
- Neither the name of the project nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.
It is always recommended to review the specific license text that comes with lxml for the version you are using to ensure compliance with its terms. The license text can typically be found in the documentation or in a LICENSE file distributed with the software.
For up-to-date information or specific legal advice regarding the use of lxml in a commercial project, consulting with a legal professional is advised.
