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Standard GPL would require that those applications be GPL'd (or compatible licensing), whereas LGPL requires only the library's source to be made available.

Is the use of words like GPL'd common to other acronyms?
Is the meaning of such words understandable from common people?

RegDwigнt
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apaderno
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4 Answers4

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Yes, it is generally understood, although it might probably also be spelled GPLed. A non-tech example is "He OD'd last night." (OD = overdose, specifically of drugs.)

ptomato
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Yes, I think these are generally understandable to people. Converting nouns to verbs on the fly with no morphological markings or suffixes is quite common in English today.

Another example that came to mind:

  • EOL'd. (End-Of-Life, referring to product lines)
Kosmonaut
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  • In your example, is also EOLed considered correct, or should I use EOL'd? – apaderno Aug 24 '10 at 18:27
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    Well, it is kind of an ad-hoc word anyway. Some people would write it with the "e", and some would use the apostrophe. If you are consistent in the way that you do it, either one would be fine. I think the motivation to sometimes use the apostrophe form is to make it absolutely clear that the past tense marker should not be mistaken for being part of the acronym (like the "ED" in "OED"). – Kosmonaut Aug 24 '10 at 18:45
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Use this only in the appropriate context, though.
"I want it here asap. DHL it."
"We already DHLed it, Sir."
That is fine between the two executives who know they are talking about sending by courier. (Name of a regular courier service being used in a generic sense like it is a word.)

Kris
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I agree with the other answers, but felt stylebook sources would be good for support.

Multiple style manuals okay using the 'd suffix for acronyms and initialisms where the acronym/initialism is immediately recognizable as a verb, e.g. The Chicago Manual of Style suggests "OD'd" for "overdosed", while the AP Stylebook recommends "OK'd" for "okayed", so if you're communicating with folks who recognize GPL as a verb, then GPL'd would be an endorsed way to do it. For folks who aren't familiar with what "GPL" means as a verb, I'd avoid it, and explain the transitive/"viral" nature of the license.

ShadowRanger
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