Frequently Asked Questions related to Free Software and Open Software

What is Free Software?

“Free software” means software that respects users’ freedom and community. Roughly, it means that the users have the freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change, and improve the software. The term “free software” is sometimes misunderstood—it has nothing to do with price. It is about freedom....

What is Open Source Software?

Open Source Software is something that you can modify as per your needs, and share with others without any licensing violation burden. When we say Open Source, the source code of the software is available publicly with Open Source licenses like GNU (GPL) which allows you to edit the source code and distribute it. Read these licenses and you will realize that these licenses are created to help us....

Difference between Free Software and Open Source Software

S.No. FS Philosophy OSS Philosophy Origin It was coined by the Free Software Foundation in the 1980s. In response to the restrictions of free software, the phrase “open source” was coined in the late 1990s. View on Software’s Role in Life Software is an important part of people’s lives. Software is just software. There are no ethics associated directly with it. Ethics and Freedom Software freedom translates to social freedom. Ethics are to be associated with the people not with the software. Value of Freedom Freedom is a value that is more important than any economical advantage. Freedom is not an absolute concept. Freedom should be allowed, not imposed. Compatibility Every free software is open source. Every open-source software is not free software. License Issue There is no such issue that exists in free software. There are many different open-source software licenses, and some of them are quite restricted, resulting in open-source software that is not free. Restrictions No restrictions are imposed on free software. Open-source software occasionally imposes some constraints on users. Examples The Free Software Directory maintains a large database of free software packages. Some of the best-known examples include the Linux kernel, the BSD and Linux operating systems, the GNU Compiler Collection and C library; the MySQL relational database; the Apache web server; and the Sendmail mail transport agent. Prime examples of open-source products are the Apache HTTP Server, the e-commerce platform Open Source Commerce, internet browsers Mozilla Firefox, and Chromium (the project where the vast majority of development of the freeware Google Chrome is done), and the full office suite LibreOffice....

Conclusion

Free software and open-source software are two distinct concepts, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Free software is developed with the goal of promoting freedom and giving users complete control over the software they use. Open-source software is developed with the goal of producing high-quality software that can be used by anyone, regardless of their technical ability. Ultimately, the choice between free software and open-source software depends on the needs of the user and the specific problem they are trying to solve....

Frequently Asked Questions related to Free Software and Open Software

Which are the free software?...