| Briefly stated, the terms “free software” and “open source software” refer
to software products distributed under terms that allow users to:
Use the software
Modify the software
Redistribute the software
in any manner they see fit, without requiring that they pay the author(s)
of the software a royalty or fee for engaging in the listed activities. In
general, such terms of distribution also protect what the publishing world
calls the “moral right” of the software’s author(s) to be identified as such.
Products such as the GNU/Linux operating system, the Apache Web server,
the Mozilla Web browser, the PHP programming language, and the
OpenOffice productivity suite are all well-known examples of this kind of
software.
More detailed, formal definitions for the terms free and open source are
maintained—and vigilantly watch-dogged—by the Free Software Foundation
(FSF)1 and Open Source Initiative (OSI).2 However, the definitions are
substantively identical, and the decision to use one of these terms rather
than the other is generally ideological, rather than functional; the FSF
prefers the use of a term that explicitly refers to freedom, while the OSI
believes that the dual meaning of the English word “free” (gratis or libertas)
is confusing, and instead prefers the emphasis on the availability and
modifiability of source code.3 In Europe the French-English construct libre
software has been widely adopted to unambiguously capture the connotation
intended by the FSF. |
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 Handbook of Industrial Cell Culture: Mammalian, Microbial, and Plant Cells
A diverse team of researchers, technologists, and engineers describe, in simple and practical language, the major current and evolving technologies for improving the biocatalytic capabilities of mammalian, microbial, and plant cells. The authors present state-of-the-art techniques, proven methods, and strategies for industrial screening,... | | Building Polyfills
Add custom features to browsers old and new by writing polyfill libraries, JavaScript plugins that take browsers beyond their native capabilities. In this practical fieldbook, author Brandon Satrom introduces principles and guidelines for polyfill development, and then walks you through the steps for building a complex, real-world... | | The Handbook of Intercultural Discourse and Communication
The Handbook of Intercultural Discourse and Communication brings together internationally-renowned scholars from a range of fields to survey the theoretical perspectives and applied work, including example analyses, in this burgeoning area of linguistics.
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Features contributions from established researchers in...
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