Free Software

Free software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions only to ensure that further recipients can also do these things. To make these acts possible, the human readable form of the program (called the source code) must be made available. The source code can be placed in the public domain, accompanied by a software license saying that the copyright holder permits these acts (a free software licence), etc.

Alternative terms for free software have been coined in an attempt to make the use of "free" less ambiguous. The most common is "open-source software", which has since evolved to refer to a subtly different sense of freedom. Free software is also known as "software libre", "free, libre and open-source software" ("FLOSS"), and "free/open-source software" ("FOSS").

Free software is distinct from freeware; freeware is proprietary software made available free of charge. Where freeware is free only to obtain, free software may be freely redistributed. Because of this, free software generally is available at no cost. Free software business models are usually based on adding value such as support, training, customization, integration, or certification. At the same time, some business models which work with non-free software are not compatible with free software, such as those that depend on a user having no choice but to pay for a license in order to lawfully use a software product.

The free software movement was launched in 1983 to make these freedoms available to every computer user.[1] Software that does not provide these freedoms is referred to as proprietary software or non-free software.

History

In the 50s, 60s, and 70s, it was normal for computer users to have the freedoms provided by free software. Software was commonly shared by individuals who used computers and by hardware manufacturers who were glad that people were making software that made their hardware useful. In the 70s and early 80s, the increasing complexity of software applications drove the industry to protect their investments through application of copyright law, and they began using technical measures such as only distributing binary copies to prevent computer users from being able to study and modify the software.[citation needed]

In 1983, Richard Stallman launched the GNU project after becoming frustrated with the effects of the change in culture of the computer industry and users. Software development for the GNU operating system began in January 1984, and the Free Software Foundation (FSF) was founded in October 1985. He introduced a free software definition and "copyleft", designed to ensure software freedom for all.

Free software is a huge international effort, producing software used by individuals, large organizations, and governmental administrations. Free software has a very high market penetration in server-side Internet applications such as the Apache web server, MySQL database, and PHP scripting language. Completely free computing environments are available as large packages of basic system software such as the many Linux distributions and FreeBSD. Free software developers have also created free versions of almost all commonly used desktop applications such as web browsers, office productivity suites, and multimedia players. It is important to note, however, that in many categories, free software for individual workstation or home users has only a fraction of the market share of their proprietary competitors. Most free software is distributed online without charge, or off-line at the marginal cost of distribution, but this is not required, and people may sell copies for any price.

The economic advantages[citation needed] of the free software model have been recognized by large corporations such as IBM, Red Hat, and Sun Microsystems. Many companies whose core business is not in the IT sector choose free software for their Internet information and sales sites, due to the lower initial capital investment and ability to freely customize the application packages. Also, some non-software industries are beginning to use techniques similar to those used in free software development for their research and development: scientists, for example, are looking towards more open development processes, and hardware such as microchips are beginning to be developed with specifications released under copyleft licenses (see the OpenCores project, for instance). Creative Commons and the free culture movement have also been largely influenced by the free software movement.

Notable free software

Operating systems: Linux, BSD, Darwin, and OpenSolaris.
GCC compilers, GDB debugger and C libraries.
Servers: BIND name server, Sendmail mail transport, Apache web server, and Samba file server.
Relational database systems: MySQL and PostgreSQL.
Programming languages: Java, Perl, PHP, Python, Lua, Ruby, and Tcl.
GUI related: X Window System, GNOME, KDE, and Xfce desktop environments.
OpenOffice.org office suite, Mozilla and Firefox web browsers, and the GIMP graphics editor.
Typesetting and document preparation systems TeX and LaTeX.
ogg: free software multimedia file type that can function like an mp3 or mp4.

The Free Software Directory is a free software project that maintains a large database of free software packages.

Taken from "Free Software" article from wikipedia.org