Open Source Software Definition

In addition many of the world s largest open source software projects and contributors including debian drupal association freebsd foundation linux foundation opensuse foundation mozilla foundation wikimedia foundation wordpress foundation have.
Open source software definition. The term originated in the context of software development to designate a specific approach to creating computer programs. The term open source refers to something people can modify and share because its design is publicly accessible. Also see open source. Open source software criteria.
The open source definition. Firefox chrome openoffice linux and android are some popular examples of open source software while microsoft windows is probably the most popular piece of closed source software out there. The distribution terms of open source software must comply with the following criteria. The open source initiative s osi definition is recognized by several governments internationally as the standard or de facto definition.
Today however open source designates a broader set of values what we call the open source way open source projects products or initiatives embrace and. The open source initiative osi a global nonprofit founded in 1998 acts as a leading authority on oss. Open source doesn t just mean access to the source code. The opposite of open source software is closed source software which has a license that restricts users and keeps the source code from them.