Microsoft® Visual C#® .NET 2003 Unleashed

Licensing Overview

This section provides an overview of the concept of licensing as it applies to software purchasing and pricing. It discusses some common types of licensing as well as some guidelines on when to use licensing mechanisms and when they aren't appropriate.

Licensing Defined

Licensing is the means by which valid users of your software distinguish themselves from users who do not have permission (license) to use your software. Whether you are writing GUI controls, an API of classes, or a fully functional application, you need some way to identify those who have the right to use your software and those who don't. A section coming up shortly provides a list of the various ways of identifying a user's right to use the application.