Frequently Asked Questiions

  • Can I use FreeLing in my project for free?
    Yes, you can, as long as you do so under the terms of Affero GPL. That means that you can use FreeLing to build other programs, or to provide services.
    If you distribute those programs, you must do so under the AGPL license (that is, you can NOT distribute a proprietary software that uses FreeLing).
    If you use FreeLing to provide services (via a web-service, web API, SaaS, or however you call it) you must distribute the code of your web-service, API, or SaaS under AGPL (that is, you can NOT use FreeLing in a proprietary web-service/API/SaaS).
    If you want to use FreeLing in proprietary software or web-services, you must acquire a dual license that frees you of the obligation of distributing under AGPL. If that is the case, please contact us.
  • Can I use FreeLing in my commercial application?
    The Affero GPL license requires that any software that calls FreeLing (either directly or as a web-service) is distributed under AGPL.
    Note that this restriction in AGPL (as in GPL) applies to distributing your software that calls FreeLing, regardless of whether FreeLing is distributed algongside with it or not.
    Thus, if you want to distribute your software under a different license (e.g. a proprietary license), you CAN NOT do that under the terms of the AGPL and you need to purchase a dual license that frees you of the obligation of distributing your code under AGPL.
    If that is the case, please contact us.
  • Does FreeLing run on Windows?
    Yes, it does. You'll find links to binary packages for Windows in the Download section. It is also possible to compile FreeLing using MSVC-2013 Update 5 or newer. Project files are provided in the source package.
  • Does FreeLing run on Mac OSX?
    Yes, it does. Unfortunately, binary packages are not provided. But you can compile FreeLing on Mac OSX following the instructions in section Installing on Mac OSX in the User Manual.
  • Can FreeLing be called from languages other than C++?
    Yes, FreeLing source package provides APIs for Java, Perl, Python, PHP and Ruby. The APIs are automatically generated with SWIG, and they may not cover all the complete range of functionalities that the C++ API offers, normally due to limitations of SWIG on performing the conversion of complex C++ classes to the calling language space.
    The APIs need to be generated from source, since they depend on the version of the calling language to be used. Check the README files in the appropriate folder inside APIs.
  • Can FreeLing be called from languages other than C++ on Windows?
    Theoretically, yes. You just need SWIG for windows, and the appropriate header files for your Python, Perl, Java, PHP or Ruby installation. Check the Makefile to build the API in Linux, and replicate the steps in Windows.
    Disclaimer: Building the APIs in Windows requires understanding of what you are doing. We don't recommend to do so if you are not a developer used to manage libraries, compilers, linkers, paths, and other similar sutff. FreeLing team does not provide free support on this issue.