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Free and open-source software

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This article is about free and open-source software. For the K-8 science curriculum, see Full Option Science System.

Free and open-source software (F/OSS, FOSS) or free/libre/open-source software (FLOSS) is software that is liberally licensed to grant the right of users to use, study, change, and improve its design through the availability of its source code. This approach has gained both momentum and acceptance as the potential benefits have been increasingly recognized by both individuals and corporations.[1][2]

In the context of free and open-source software, free refers to the freedom to copy and re-use the software, rather than to the price of the software. The Free Software Foundation, an organization that advocates the free software model, suggests that, to understand the concept, one should "think of free as in free speech, not as in free beer".[3]

Free and open-source software is an inclusive term which covers both free software and open source software which, despite describing similar development models, have differing cultures and philosophies.[4] Free software focuses on the philosophical freedoms it gives to users while open source focuses on the perceived strengths of its peer-to-peer development model.[5] FOSS is a term that can be used without particular bias towards either political approach.

Free software licences and open source licenses are used by many software packages. While the licenses themselves are in most cases the same, the two terms grew out of different philosophies and are often used to signify different distribution methodologies.[6]

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Adoption by governments

See also: Linux adoption

The German City of Munich was amongst the first to announce its intention to switch from Microsoft Windows-based Operating Systems to an open source implementation of SuSE Linux in March 2003,[7][8] having achieved an adoption rate of 20% by 2010.[9]

In 2004, a law in Venezuela (Decree 3390) went into effect, mandating a two year transition to open source in all public agencies. As of June 2009 this ambitious transition is still under way.[10][11] Malaysia launched the "Malaysian Public Sector Open Source Software Program", saving millions on proprietary software licences till 2008.[12][13]

In 2005 the Government of Peru voted to adopt open source across all its bodies.[14] The 2002 response to Microsoft's critique is available online. In the preamble to the bill, the Peruvian government stressed that the choice was made to ensure that key pillars of democracy were safeguarded: "The basic principles which inspire the Bill are linked to the basic guarantees of a state of law."[15] In September, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts announced its formal adoption of the OpenDocument standard for all Commonwealth entities.[7]

In 2006, the Brazilian government has simultaneously encouraged the distribution of cheap computers running Linux throughout its poorer communities by subsidizing their purchase with tax breaks. [7]

In February 2008, the Dominican Republic passed a law to facilitate the migration of all public entities (government, education, etc.) to Software Libre, and to adopt open standards in the public sector.[16] In April, Ecuador passed a similar law, Decree 1014, designed to migrate the public sector to Software Libre.[17]

In February 2009, the United States White House moved its website to Linux servers using Drupal for content management.[18] In March, the French Gendarmerie Nationale announced it will totally switch to Ubuntu by 2015.[19]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Hatlestad, Luc (2005-08-09). "LinuxWorld Showcases Open-Source Growth, Expansion". InformationWeek. CMP Media, LLC. Archived from the original on 2007-11-25. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
  2. ^ Claburn, Thomas (January 17, 2007). "Study Finds Open Source Benefits Business". InformationWeek. CMP Media LLC. Archived from the original on 2007-11-25. Retrieved 11 2 5 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dateformat= (help)
  3. ^ "The Free Software Definition". GNU.org. Retrieved 2010-02-04.
  4. ^ Feller (2005), p. 89, 362
  5. ^ Feller (2005), pp. 101-106, 110-111.
  6. ^ Barr, Joe (1998). "Why "Free Software" is better than "Open Source"". Free Software Foundation. Archived from the original on 2007-11-25. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
  7. ^ a b c Casson, Tony; Ryan, Patrick S. (May 1, 2006). "Open Standards, Open Source Adoption in the Public Sector, and Their Relationship to Microsoft's Market Dominance". In Bolin, Sherrie (ed.). Standards Edge: Unifier or Divider?. Sheridan Books. p. 87.
  8. ^ Declaration of Independence: The LiMux Project in Munich
  9. ^ Official LiMux page
  10. ^ Template:Es icon Venezuela Open Source
  11. ^ Chavez, Hugo F. (2004). "Publicado en la Gaceta oficial No 38.095 de fecha 28/ 12/ 2004". Retrieved 2009-03-01. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help) [dead link‍]
  12. ^ OSCC.org
  13. ^ OSCC.org
  14. ^ TheRegister.co.uk
  15. ^ National Advisory Council on Innovation Open Software Working Group (2004). "Free/Libre & Open Source Software and Open Standards in South Africa" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-05-31. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help) [dead link‍]
  16. ^ Ley de Software Libre República Dominicana
  17. ^ Template:Es icon Estebanmendieta.com, Decree 1014
  18. ^ Vaughan-Nichols, Steven J. "Obama Invites Open Source into the White House" in PCWorld, October 29, 2009.
  19. ^ "Ars Technica - French police: we saved millions of euros by adopting Ubuntu".

References

  • Joseph Feller, Brian Fitzgerald, Scott A. Hissam, Karim R. Lakahani. Perspectives on Free and Open Source Software. MIT Press, 2005. ISBN 0-262-06246-1.
  • Peter H. Salus (2005-03-28), Groklaw.net, A History of Free and Open Source, Groklaw.
  • David A. Wheeler (2007-04-16), Dwheeler.com, Why Open Source Software / Free Software (OSS/FS, FLOSS, or FOSS)? Look at the Numbers!.
  • William, Sam (2002). Free as in Freedom: Richard Stallman's Crusade for Free Software. O'Reilly Media. ISBN 0596002874.
Wikibooks has a book on the topic of: FLOSS Concept Booklet
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