FOSS: History and Philosophy

Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) is the glue that holds everyone’s daily tech digest together. It runs in our phones, computers, cars, you name it. But what is FOSS?

History

This idea of sharing and modifying software isn’t new. Since the 1950s, academics would contribute to the development of software by passing along programs and source code. Due to the complexities of different machines at the time, modifications to the code would need to be made to suit the user. However, as time went on, companies leaned towards proprietary software in order to protect intellectual property. Richard Stallman, founder of the GNU Project and the Free Software Foundation (FSF), didn’t agree with these privatizing practices and went on to start the free software movement. The free software movement’s goal was to secure certain freedoms for software users.

For software to be considered free, it must abide by The Four Essential Freedoms of Free Software:

• The freedom to run the program as you wish, for any purpose,
• The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does your computing as you wish. Access to the source code is a precondition for this,
• The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor, and
• The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others. By doing this you can give the whole community a chance to benefit from your changes. Access to the source code is a precondition for this.

Review

Despite the plea for protecting one’s own property, software is a subject that grows from being shared. Linus Torvalds’ Linux is an example of the success of a Bazaar style of growth. Everyone has the ability to use, copy, share, and modify the software, so ideas and fixes can quickly be introduced. However, not all open source software is free. Restrictions on some open source licenses go against the FSF’s guidelines and restrict a user’s essential software freedoms. Overall, the difference between free software and open source software is slim and comes down to its availability to the user. Therefore, when choosing how to license your software, it’s crucial to choose the package that would best fit your needs.