Open Source Software
Open-source software (OSS) is computer software with its source code made available and licensed with an open-source license in which the copyright holder provides the rights to study, change and distribute the software for free to anyone and for any purpose. Open-source software is very often developed in a public, collaborative manner. Open-source software is the most prominent example of open-source development and often compared to (technically defined) user-generated content or (legally defined) open-content movements.
A report by the Standish Group (from 2008) states that adoption of open-source software models has resulted in savings of about $60 billion per year to consumers.
Read more about Open Source Software: History, The Open Source Definition, Proliferation of The Term, Non-software Use, Widely Used Open-source Products, Development Philosophy, Licensing, Funding, Comparison With Closed Source, Comparison With Free Software, Open-source Vs. Source-available, Pros and Cons For Software Producers, Development Tools, Projects and Organizations, Certification, Criticism, See Also
Famous quotes containing the words open and/or source:
“A temple, you know, was anciently “an open place without a roof,” whose walls served merely to shut out the world and direct the mind toward heaven; but a modern meeting-house shuts out the heavens, while it crowds the world into still closer quarters.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.”
—Joseph Conrad (1857–1924)