Open Source Software

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:

    Do you have to open graves to find girls to fall in love with?
    John L. Balderston (1899–1954)

    The source of Pyrrhonism comes from failing to distinguish between a demonstration, a proof and a probability. A demonstration supposes that the contradictory idea is impossible; a proof of fact is where all the reasons lead to belief, without there being any pretext for doubt; a probability is where the reasons for belief are stronger than those for doubting.
    Andrew Michael Ramsay (1686–1743)