Open-Source Software: Definition, Development, and Impact

Definition and freedoms of open-source software

Open-source software (OSS) is software distributed under a license that gives users access to its source code and permits them to use, study, modify, and redistribute it. These freedoms distinguish OSS from proprietary software, whose source code and usage rights are generally restricted. The Open Source Initiative’s Open Source Definition requires software to meet criteria such as source-code availability, permission to create and distribute derivative works, and nondiscrimination against users, groups, or fields of endeavor. The freedoms of open-source software concern liberty rather than price: users may run the software for any purpose, inspect how it works, adapt it to their needs, and share original or modified versions with others. Licenses determine the specific conditions for these rights. Permissive licenses, such as MIT, BSD, and Apache, allow modified software to be redistributed under different terms, while copyleft licenses, such as the GNU GPL, require certain redistributed derivative works to remain under the same or a compatible license. Open source is closely related to, but not identical with, free software; free software emphasizes user freedom, whereas open source commonly emphasizes collaborative development, transparency, and practical benefits.

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Open Source Definition and OSI criteria

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