Outline Of Free Software Wikipedia

Leo Migdal

-Dec 4, 2025, 3:40 PM

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to free software and the free software movement: Free software – software which can be run, studied, examined, modified, and redistributed freely (without any cost). This type of software, which was given its name in 1983, has also come to be known as "open-source software", "software libre", "FOSS", and "FLOSS". The term "Free" refers to it being unfettered, rather than being free of charge. Free and open-source software packages (by type) The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to free software:

Free software – software which can be run, studied, examined, modified, and redistributed. This type of software, which was given its name in 1983, has also come to be known as "open-source software", "software libre", "FOSS", and "FLOSS". The term "Free" refers to it being unfettered, rather than being free of charge. Topic outline of free software — Free software is software which can be run, studied, examined, modified, and redistributed. This type of software, which was given its name in 1983, has also come to be known as open source software , software libre , FOSS , and FLOSS . The term… … Wikipedia

Free software Unicode typefaces — A few projects exist to provide free software Unicode typefaces, i.e. Unicode typefaces which are free software and designed to contain glyphs of all Unicode characters. However there are also numerous projects aimed at providing only a certain… … Wikipedia Free and open source software — FOSS redirects here. For the K 8 science curriculum, see Full Option Science System. Free and open source software (F/OSS, FOSS) or free/libre/open source software (FLOSS) is software that is liberally licensed to grant users the right to use,… … Wikipedia

On steroids. This is a list of free and open-source software (FOSS) packages, computer software licensed under free software licenses and open-source licenses. Software that fits the Free Software Definition may be more appropriately called free software; the GNU project in particular objects to their works being referred to as open-source.[1] For more information about the philosophical... However, nearly all software meeting the Free Software Definition also meets the Open Source Definition and vice versa. A small fraction of the software that meets either definition is listed here. Some of the open-source applications are also the basis of commercial products, shown in the List of commercial open-source applications and services.

Be advised that available distributions of these systems can contain, or offer to build and install, added software that is neither free software nor open-source. Free software, or libre software,[1][2] is computer software distributed under terms that allow users to run the software for any purpose as well as to study, change, and distribute it and any adapted versions.[3][4][5][6][7]... The right to study and modify a computer program entails that source code—the preferred format for making changes—be made available to users of that program. While this is often called "access to source code" or "public availability", the Free Software Foundation recommends against thinking in those terms,[10] because it might give the impression that users have an obligation (as... Although the term "free software" had already been used loosely in the past,[11] Richard Stallman is credited with tying it to the sense under discussion and starting the free-software movement in 1983, when he... For software under the purview of copyright to be free, it must carry a software license whereby the author grants users the aforementioned rights.

Software that is not covered by copyright law, such as software in the public domain, is free as long as the source code is in the public domain too, or otherwise available without restrictions. Proprietary software uses restrictive software licences or EULAs and usually does not provide users with the source code. Users are thus legally or technically prevented from changing the software, and this results on reliance on the publisher to provide updates, help, and support. (See also vendor lock-in and abandonware). Users often may not reverse engineer, modify, or redistribute proprietary software.[15][16] Beyond copyright law, contracts and lack of source code, there can exist additional obstacles keeping users from exercising freedom over a piece of... The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to free software and the free software movement:

Free software – software which can be run, studied, examined, modified, and redistributed freely (without any cost). This type of software, which was given its name in 1983, has also come to be known as "open-source software", "software libre", "FOSS", and "FLOSS". The term "Free" refers to it being unfettered, rather than being free of charge. Free and open-source software packages (by type) Free and open-source software organizations What are the origins and definition of free software?

– This article explores the evolution of free software, its philosophical foundations, and its impact on the tech industry. Free software, initiated by Richard Stallman in 1989, aims to protect the freedom of software users by granting them unrestricted access, modification, distribution, and use of programming code. Released under the GNU General Public License, free software like WordPress is not only open-source but also sustains itself through contributions from an open-source community and revenue generated from related services. The evolution of free software can be traced back to Richard Stallman’s initiation of the Free Software movement in 1989. This movement aimed to address the increasing restrictiveness of software licenses. Free software, with its emphasis on freedom rather than price, has played a significant role in promoting innovation.

On steroids. The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to software: Software – collection of computer programs and related data that provides the information for the functioning of a computer. It is held in various forms of memory of the computer. It comprises procedures, algorithms, and documentation concerned with the operation of a data processing system. The term was coined to contrast to the term hardware, meaning physical devices.

In contrast to hardware, software "cannot be touched".[1] Software is also sometimes used in a more narrow sense, meaning application software only. Sometimes the term includes data that has not traditionally been associated with computers, such as film, tapes, and records.[2] Software development entails the establishment of a systems development life cycle of a software product. It encompasses a planned and structured process from the conception of the desired software to its final manifestation,[4] which constitutes computer programming, the process of writing and maintaining the source code. Software development includes research, prototyping, modification, reuse, re-engineering, maintenance, or any other activities that result in software products.[5]

Outline Of Free Software Wikipedia

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