Term FREE in Open Source Software

Term FREE in Open Source Software

Free software is simply software that respects our freedom — our freedom to learn and understand the software we are using. Free software is designed to free the user from restrictions put in place by proprietary software, and so using free software lets you join a global community of people who are making the political and ethical assertion of our rights to learn and to share what we learn with others. 

 The free software GNU operating system, which began development in 1984 is now used by millions of people worldwide as an alternative to both Microsoft Windows and Apple's Mac OS X operating systems.

Because most software we buy or download from the web denies us these rights, we can look at the reasons why: usually we don't actually buy ownership of the software but instead, receive a license to use the software, binding us with many fine-print rules about what we can and cannot do.

We should be able to make copies of software and give them to our friends, we should be able to figure out how programs work and change them, we should be able to put copies of software on all the computers in our home or office — these are all things that software licenses are traditionally designed to prevent.

Enter the free software movement: groups of individuals in collaboration over the Internet and in local groups, working together for the rights of computer users worldwide, creating new software to replace the bad licenses on your computer with community built software that removes the restrictions put in place and creates new and exciting ways to use computers for social good.

What is Free/Open Source Software?

Free/Open Source Software is a computer software whose source code is available under a license that permits users to use, change, and improve the software, and to redistribute it in modified or unmodified form. It is often developed in a public, collaborative manner.

Features of Free Software

• The freedom to run the program, for any purpose
• The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to local needs
• The freedom to redistribute copies so others can benefit from the software
• The freedom to improve the program, and release the improved version to the public, so that the community can benefit

Open Source Definition

The Open Source Definition is used by the Open Source Initiative to determine whether or not a software license can be considered open source.

The definition was based on the Debian Free Software Guidelines, written and adapted primarily by Bruce Perens. They are by no means definitive even as applied to software. Clause 3 is the primary legal difference between free software and open source software as such, free software is stricter in interpreting 3. Clauses 5 and 6 are not a condition of any major open content license regimes, which commonly do restrict types of uses and users; for instance, Creative Commons has open content licenses that explicitly forbid commercial use.

Introduction

Open source doesn't just mean access to the source code.

The distribution terms of open-source software must comply with the following criteria:

1. Free Redistribution

The license shall not restrict any party from selling or giving away the software as a component of an aggregate software distribution containing programs from several different sources. The license shall not require a royalty or other fee for such sale.

2. Source Code

The program must include source code, and must allow distribution in source code as well as compiled form. Where some form of a product is not distributed with source code, there must be a well-publicized means of obtaining the source code for no more than a reasonable reproduction cost preferably, downloading via the Internet without charge. The source code must be the preferred form in which a programmer would modify the program. Deliberately obfuscated source code is not allowed. Intermediate forms such as the output of a preprocessor or translator are not allowed.

3. Derived Works

The license must allow modifications and derived works, and must allow them to be distributed under the same terms as the license of the original software.

4. Integrity of the Author's Source Code

The license may restrict source-code from being distributed in modified form only if the license allows the distribution of "patch files" with the source code for the purpose of modifying the program at build time. The license must explicitly permit distribution of software built from modified source code. The license may require derived works to carry a different name or version number from the original software.

5. No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups

The license must not discriminate against any person or group of persons.

6. No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor.

The license must not restrict anyone from making use of the program in a specific field of endeavor. For example, it may not restrict the program from being used in a business, or from being used for genetic research.

7. Distribution of License

The rights attached to the program must apply to all to whom the program is redistributed without the need for execution of an additional license by those parties.

8. License Must Not Be Specific to a Product

The rights attached to the program must not depend on the program's being part of a particular software distribution. If the program is extracted from that distribution and used or distributed within the terms of the program's license, all parties to whom the program is redistributed should have the same rights as those that are granted in conjunction with the original software distribution.

9. License Must Not Restrict Other Software

The license must not place restrictions on other software that is distributed along with the licensed software. For example, the license must not insist that all other programs distributed on the same medium must be open-source software.

10. License Must Be Technology-Neutral

No provision of the license may be predicated on any individual technology or style of interface.

Definitions

There are numerous groups who claim ownership of the term "Open Source", but the term has not been trademarked. The Open Source Initiative's definition is widely recognized as the standard or de facto definition.
The Open Source Initiative (OSI) was formed in February 1998 by Raymond and Perens. With about 20 years of evidence from case histories of closed and open development already provided by the Internet, the OSI continued to present the 'open source' case to commercial businesses. They sought to bring a higher profile to the practical benefits of freely available source code, and wanted to bring major software businesses and other high-tech industries into open source. Perens adapted Debian's Free Software Guidelines to make The Open Source Definition.

 

The Open Source Definition

The Open Source Definition is used by the Open Source Initiative to determine whether a software license can be considered open source. The definition was based on the Debian Free Software Guidelines, written and adapted primarily by Bruce Perens.Perens did not base his writing on the "four freedoms" of Free Software from the Free Software Foundation, which were only widely available later.

 

Perens' principles

Under Perens' definition, open source describes a broad general type of software license that makes source code available to the general public with relaxed or non-existent copyright restrictions. The principles, as stated, say absolutely nothing about trademark or patent use and require absolutely no cooperation to ensure that any common audit or release regime applies to any derived works. It is an explicit "feature" of open source that it may put no restrictions on the use or distribution by any organization or user. It forbids this, in principle, to guarantee continued access to derived works even by the major original contributors.

Reference 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source_software#History
http://opensource.org/docs/osd

History of Open Source

History

The free software movement was launched in 1983. In 1998, a group of individuals advocated that the term free software should be replaced by open source software (OSS) as an expression which is less ambiguous and more comfortable for the corporate world. Software developers may want to publish their software with an open source license, so that anybody may also develop the same software or understand its internal functioning. Open source software generally allows anyone to create modifications of the software, port it to new operating systems and processor architectures, share it with others or, in some cases, market it. Scholars Casson and Ryan have pointed out several policy-based reasons for adoption of open source, in particular, the heightened value proposition from open source (when compared to most proprietary formats) in the following categories:

• Security
• Affordability
• Transparency
• Perpetuity
• Interoperability
• Localisation.

Particularly in the context of local governments (who make software decisions), Casson and Ryan argue that "governments have an inherent responsibility and fiduciary duty to taxpayers" which includes the careful analysis of these factors when deciding to purchase proprietary software or implement an open-source option.

The Open Source Definition, notably, presents an open source philosophy, and further defines the terms of usage, modification and redistribution of open source software. Software licenses grant rights to users which would otherwise be reserved by copyright law to the copyright holder. Several open source software licenses have qualified within the boundaries of the Open Source Definition. The most prominent and popular example is the GNU General Public License (GPL), which “allows free distribution under the condition that further developments and applications are put under the same licence” – thus also free. While open source distribution presents a way to make the source code of a product publicly accessible, the open source licenses allow the authors to fine tune such access.

The open source label came out of a strategy session held on April 7, 1998 in Palo Alto in reaction to Netscape's January 1998 announcement of a source code release for Navigator (as Mozilla). A group of individuals at the session included Tim O'Reilly, Linus Torvalds, Tom Paquin, Jamie Zawinski, Larry Wall, Brian Behlendorf, Sameer Parekh, Eric Allman, Greg Olson, Paul Vixie, John Ousterhout, Guido van Rossum, Philip Zimmermann, John Gilmore and Eric S. Raymond.They used the opportunity before the release of Navigator's source code to clarify a potential confusion caused by the ambiguity of the word "free" in English.

Many people claimed that the birth of the Internet, since 1969, started the open source movement, while others do not distinguish between open source and free software movements.

The Free Software Foundation (FSF), started in 1985, intended the word "free" to mean freedom to distribute (or "free as in free speech") and not freedom from cost (or "free as in free beer"). Since a great deal of free software already was (and still is) free of charge, such free software became associated with zero cost, which seemed anti-commercial.

The Open Source Initiative (OSI) was formed in February 1998 by Eric S. Raymond and Bruce Perens. With at least 20 years of evidence from case histories of closed software development versus open development already provided by the Internet developer community, the OSI presented the 'open source' case to commercial businesses, like Netscape. The OSI hoped that the usage of the label "open source," a term suggested by Peterson of the Foresight Institute at the strategy session, would eliminate ambiguity, particularly for individuals who perceive "free software" as anti-commercial. They sought to bring a higher profile to the practical benefits of freely available source code, and they wanted to bring major software businesses and other high-tech industries into open source. Perens attempted to register "open source" as a service mark for the OSI, but that attempt was impractical by trademark standards. Meanwhile, due to the presentation of Raymond's paper to the upper management at Netscape Raymond only discovered when he read the  Release, and was called by Netscape CEO Jim Barksdale's PA later in the day Netscape released its Navigator source code as open source, with favorable results.

Reference

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source_software#History

Advantage Of Open Source

Today open source software has become critical for almost every organization. Almost everything requires open source software, be it telecommunication systems, inventory, accounting, personal productivity applications, contact management and operating systems amongst others. At Outsource2india, we have experienced and skilled software engineers who can proficiently build a software system by using open source software. With our expertise in java development, we can also develop application blocks. We also use our system integration services to make sure that the new application that we create can be easily integrated with your existing systems. Outsource open source software development to O2I and benefit from high-quality services at a cost-effective price.

Open source software can have a major impact on your entire organization. There are several advantages of using open source software. The following are a list of the advantages of opting for open source software.

•   Lesser hardware costs

Since Linux and open source solutions are easily portable and compressed, it takes lesser hardware power to carry out the same tasks when compared to the hardware power it takes on servers, such as, Solaris, Windows or workstations. With this less hardware power advantage, you can even use cheaper or older hardware and still get the desired results.

•  High-quality software

Open source software is mostly high-quality software. When you use the open source software, the source code is available. Most open source software are well-designed. Open source software can also be efficiently used in coding. These reasons make open source software an ideal choice for organizations.

• No vendor lock-in

IT managers in organizations face constant frustration when dealing with vendor lock-ins'. Lack of portability, expensive license fees and inability to customize software are some of the other disadvantages. Using open source software gives you more freedom and you can effectively address all these disadvantages.

• Integrated management

By using open source software, you can benefit from integrated management. Open source software uses technologies, such as, common information model (CIM) and web based enterprise management (WBEM). These high-end technologies enable you to integrate and combine server, application, service and workstation management. This integration would result in efficient administration.

•  Simple license management

When you use open source software, you would no longer need to worry about licenses. Open source software enables you to install it several times and also use it from any location. You will be free from monitoring, tracking or counting license compliance.

• Lower software costs

Using open source software can help you minimize your expenses. You can save on licensing fees and maintenance fees. The only expenses that you would encounter would be expenditure for documentation, media and support.

• Abundant support

You will get ample support when you use open source software. Open source support is mostly freely available and can be easily accessed through online communities. There are also many software companies that provide free online help and also varied levels of paid support. Most organization who create open source software solutions also provide maintenance and support.

• Scaling and consolidating

Linux and open source software can be easily scaled. With varied options for clustering, load balancing and open source applications, such as email and database, you can enable your organization to either scale up and achieve higher growth or consolidate and achieve more with less.

About Open Source Software

Who create the open source software???

The open source label came out of a strategy session held on April 7, 1998 in Palo Alto in reaction to Netscape's January 1998 announcement of a source code release for Navigator (as Mozilla). A group of individuals at the session included Tim O'Reilly, Linus Torvalds, Tom Paquin, Jamie Zawinski, Larry Wall, Brian Behlendorf, Sameer Parekh, Eric Allman, Greg Olson, Paul Vixie, John Ousterhout, Guido van Rossum, Philip Zimmermann, John Gilmore and Eric S. Raymond. They used the opportunity before the release of Navigator's source code to clarify a potential confusion caused by the ambiguity of the word "free" in English.

Eric Steven Raymond (born December 4, 1957), often referred to as ESR, is an American computer programmer, author and open source software advocate. His name became known within the hacker culture when he picked up maintenance of the "Jargon File" in 1990. After the 1997 publication of "The Cathedral and the Bazaar", Raymond became, for a number of years, an unofficial spokesman of the open source movement.

Is open source 'only' a licence??????

 
The expression open source has wide application. For the OSI it also refers to the distinctive software development methodology employed by many open source software projects. The OSI home page starts with 'Open source is a development method for software that harnesses the power of distributed peer review and transparency of process.' However, the OSI stops short of defining this methodology in the Open Source Definition, which concerns itself only with the requirements of a licence designed to protect this way of developing software.
The open development methodology conflicts with many of the principles of software development normally taught in academia. Open source software, strictly speaking, may or may not be developed using an open development methodology. The choice of this or any other development methodology is dependent upon a project's chosen route to sustainability.

Does open source mean anything else????

 
The term 'open source' originated in the worlds of journalism and intelligence, and referred to a publicly available source of information. This former use was known to the founders of the Open Source Initiative, and was felt to be 'a feature, not a bug.'
Sometimes open source is conflated with open content or free content. Open content refers to content that can be edited, changed and added to by any reader. A good example is the famous Wikipedia, an online open content encyclopaedia. Open source is used today in various contexts which take it far beyond its application in software. However, to re-state, for OSS Watch open source software always refers to software released under an OSI-certified licence.

Is Open Source Software the same as 'Free Software' ???

 
Free software is an expression used by the Free Software Foundation. It must not be confused with 'freeware' , which is software that can be acquired at no cost but which source code may well not be available. The term ' free software '  pre-dates open software , and for some, it is the preferable term. The Free Software Defination marks out what is necessary for software to count as free.


Reference :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source_software

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_S._Raymond

http://www.oss-watch.ac.uk/resources/opensourcesoftware.xml