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The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization founded by Richard Stallman [6] on October 4, 1985, to support the free software movement, with the organization's preference for software being distributed under copyleft ("share alike") terms, [7] such as with its own GNU General Public License. [8]
The history of free and open-source software begins at the advent of computer software in the early half of the 20th century. In the 1950s and 1960s, computer operating software and compilers were delivered as a part of hardware purchases without separate fees. At the time, source code —the human-readable form of software—was generally ...
Free software movement. The free software movement is a social movement with the goal of obtaining and guaranteeing certain freedoms for software users, namely the freedoms to run, study, modify, and share copies of software. [1][2] Software which meets these requirements, The Four Essential Freedoms of Free Software, is termed free software.
Free software. GNU Guix. An example of a GNU FSDG complying free-software operating system running some representative applications. Shown are the GNOME desktop environment, the GNU Emacs text editor, the GIMP image editor, and the VLC media player. Free software, libre software, libreware[1][2] or rarely known as freedom-respecting software is ...
Introduction. Free and open-source software (FOSS) is software that is distributed in a manner that allows its users to run the software for any purpose, to redistribute copies of it, and to examine, study, and modify, the source code. FOSS is also a loosely associated movement of multiple organizations, foundations, communities and individuals ...
"Free and open-source software" (FOSS) is an umbrella term for software that is simultaneously considered both free software and open-source software. [5] The precise definition of the terms "free software" and "open-source software" applies them to any software distributed under terms that allow users to use, modify, and redistribute said software in any manner they see fit, without requiring ...
Richard Stallman. Richard Matthew Stallman (/ ˈstɔːlmən / STAWL-mən; born March 16, 1953), also known by his initials, rms, [1] is an American free software movement activist and programmer. He campaigns for software to be distributed in such a manner that its users have the freedom to use, study, distribute, and modify that software.
This article presents a timeline of events related to popular free/open-source software. For a narrative explaining the overall development, see the related history of free and open-source software. The Achievements column documents achievements a project attained at some point in time (not necessarily when it was first released).