You may have heard the term “open source” relating to free software but is more than this as there is a standard associated in the development and distribution of such software. Open source refers to any program whose source code is made available for use or modification as users or other developers may see fit. Even though the user is given access to the source code of the software, there are guidelines that parties involved should comply with:
- free redistribution with no restrictions for selling or giving away the software as a component of an aggregate software distribution containing programs from several different sources and the license cannot require a royalty or any other fee
- program must include source code and allow distribution in source code as well as compiled form
- the license must allow modifications and derived works, to be distributed under the same terms as the license of the original software
- 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
- no discrimination of persons or groups
- no discrimination of fields of endeavor, for example, may not restrict the program from being used in a business or for genetic research
- the rights to the program should not require the need for execution of an additional license by the parties redistributing
- license must not be specific to a product meaning rights attached to the program must not depend on the program being part of a particular software distribution
- license must not restrict other software, that means no restriction on software that is distributed with the licensed software
- license must be technology-neutral, therefore no provision of the license may be predicated on any individual technology or style of interface
Open source has benefits for the business world as can bring substantial cost savings when having access and right to the source code. And doesn’t seem open source is going away anytime soon since it has been referred to as the software that runs the internet from Apache web server to the Mozilla web browser, and from the Linux operating system to the invisible inner workings of the internet
