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| {{Transclude lead excerpt | 1=Free and open-source software | paragraphs= | files= | fileargs= | errors= |more=More about free and open-source software...}} | |||
| ''']''' is ] that is distributed in a manner that allows its users to ] the software for any purpose, to redistribute copies of, and to examine, study, and modify, the ]. The term was coined in 1983, with 'free' denoting the broad freedom given to users, rather than software that is free of charge (which is ]). ] include 'software libre' and ']' (or 'FOSS'). ] is not always free, though. | |||
| The ] was launched in 1983 with the primary goal of developing free software replacements for the ] that was at that point heavily relied upon. Projects born from the movement include ], the ], ], ], ], and, on network servers, ], and the ]. | |||
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Latest revision as of 22:59, 2 January 2025
Free and open-source software (FOSS) is software that is available under an open-source license that grants the right to use, modify, and distribute the software, modified or not, to everyone free of charge. The public availability of the source code is, therefore, a necessary but not sufficient condition. FOSS is also a loosely associated movement of multiple organizations, foundations, communities and individuals who share basic philosophical perspectives and collaborate practically, but might diverge in detail questions. The historical precursor to this was the hobbyist and academic public domain software ecosystem of the 1960s to 1980s. FOSS is an inclusive umbrella term for free software and open-source software. FOSS is in contrast to proprietary software, which consists of software under restrictive copyright or licensing as well as software with undisclosed source code.
The rights granted to users of FOSS originate from the "Four Essential Freedoms" of the Free Software Definition and the criteria of The Open Source Definition. Other benefits of using FOSS include decreased software costs, increased security against malware, stability, privacy, opportunities for educational usage, and giving users more control over their own hardware. Free and open-source operating systems such as Linux distributions and descendants of BSD are widely used today, powering millions of servers, desktops, smartphones, and other devices. Free-software licenses and open-source licenses are used by many software packages today. The free software movement and the open-source software movement are online social movements behind widespread production, adoption and promotion of FOSS, with the former preferring to use the term free/libre and open-source software (FLOSS). (More about free and open-source software...)