[hibernate-dev] Copyright on hibernate XML interface?

[Oliver Plohmann]

Hello,

I already posted this question to a hibernate forum but didn't receive 
any answer. That's why I saw no way round posting to this mailing list.

I'm working on a mapping tool that maps Java objects to RFCs. This is 
somewhat similar to mapping Java objects to relational database tables 
(though much simpler). I therefore got the idea to use the hibernate 
hbm.xml mapping syntax for this Java-to-RFC mapping tool, because there 
is no point in re-inventing the wheel and many many people know 
hibernate and will therefore quickly feel at home when using this 
Java-to-RFC mapping tool if it uses the same mapping XML syntax as 
hibernate.

My question is now whether also this hbm.xml mapping syntax is 
completely free and may be used for another purpose than hibernate 
itself or whether permission has to be granted by the authors of 
hibernate. I just want to be really sure before I start, because 
changing the mapping syntax in the middle of the race is a lot of work.

Thanks in advance, Oliver Plohmann