OVERVIEW OF FREE/OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE

OVERVIEW OF FREE/OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE

Technical Terms

F/OSS – Free / Open Source Software

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

COSS – Commercial Open Source Software

          The phrase Commercial open source software (COSS) is used as a synonym for Proprietary Open Source Software, which contains some elements of free and open source software. The requirements for legitimately claiming to be "open source" sometimes limit some functionality to proprietary software, which providers sell under a closed and limited license. The release of some code under closed licensing builds in a potential path back to vendor lock-in if the functionality is ever required, and so the overall software is not "free" in the original sense and so does not qualify as FOSS as a whole. Arguably the right term for these "mixed-source" applications is Proprietary Software, while the term many of the companies behind them prefer, is COSS

HP –Hewlett-Packard

          Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ) or HP is an American multinational information technology  corporation  headquartered  in Palo Alto,  California,  United States. It  provides products, technologies, software, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and large enterprises, including customers in the government, health and education sectors.

GNU GPL – General Public License

          The GNU General Public License (GNU GPL or GPL) is the most widely used[6] software license, which guarantees end-users the freedoms to use, study, share (copy), and modify the software. Software that ensures these freedom-rights is called free software. The license was originally written by Richard Stallman of the Free Software Foundation (FSF) for the GNU project.

GNU LGPL – Lesser General Public License

          GNU Lesser General Public License or LGPL (formerly the GNU Library General Public License) is a free software license published by the Free Software Foundation (FSF). The LGPL allows developers and companies to use and integrate LGPL software into their own (even proprietary) software without being required to release the source code of their own software-parts.

          The GNU Free Documentation License (GNU FDL or simply GFDL) is a copy left license for free documentation, designed by the Free Software Foundation (FSF) for the GNU Project. It is similar to the GNU General Public License, giving readers the rights to copy, redistribute, and modify a work and requires all copies and derivatives to be available under the same license.