Open-source software (OSS) is computer software that is available in source code form: the source code and certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under a software license that permits users to study, change, improve and at times also to distribute the software.
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.
History of Open Source Software :
- In 1983, Richard Stallman launched the GNU Project to write a complete operating system free from constraints on use of its source code.
- In 1989, the first version of the GNU General Public License was published. A slightly updated version 2 was published in 1991.
- In 1989, some GNU developers formed the company Cygnus Solutions.
- The Linux kernel, started by Linus Torvalds, was released as freely modifiable source code in 1991.
- The BSD lawsuit was settled out of court in 1993, FreeBSD and NetBSD (both derived from 386BSD).
- KDE was founded in 1996 by Matthias Ettrich. At the time, he was troubled by the inconsistencies in UNIX applications.
- In 1997, Eric Raymond published The Cathedral and the Bazaar, a reflective analysis of the hacker community and free software principles. The paper received significant attention in early 1998 and was one factor in motivating Netscape Communications Corporation to release their popular Netscape Communicator Internet suite as free software. This code is today better known as Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird.
- In August 1999, Sun Microsystems released the Star Office suite as free software under the GNU Lesser General Public License. The free software version was renamed OpenOf All about open source software
Application software
§ 7-Zip — file archiver
§ Blender — 3D graphics editor
§ Eclipse — development environment comprising an IDE
§ GIMP — graphics editor
§ LibreOffice — office suite
§ Mozilla Firefox — web browser
§ Mozilla Thunderbird — e-mail client
§ NASA World Wind — virtual globe, geobrowser
§ FreePlane — mind map
Operating systems
Ubuntu is a popular open-source computer operating system, and a form of Linux.
§ FreeBSD — operating system derived from Unix
§ Linux/GNU — family of Unix-like operating systems
§ OpenSolaris — Sun Microsystems's discontinued operating system derived from Unix
§ Symbian — real-time mobile operating system
Programming languages
§ PHP — scripting language suited for the web
§ Python — general purpose programming language
Server software
§ Apache — HTTP web server
§ Drupal — content management system
§ MediaWiki — wiki server software, the software that runs Wikipedia
§ MongoDB — document-oriented, non-relational database
§ Moodle — course management system or virtual learning environment
§ RenovatioCMS — content management system
§ WordPress — blog software
• fice.org, and coexists with StarOffice.
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