What is open-source software (OSS)?
Software comes in the form of compiled code (binaries), and the human-readable source code from which these binaries are compiled. Open-source software is software whereby the software is distributed in the form of binaries as well as source code. But, more than that, to qualify as open source, the distributor cannot restrict any party from redistributing the software, nor can any party be restricted from making modifications or making derivative works based on the source code. Open source has its roots in “Free Software”, a term coined by Richard Stallman of the GNU Project and the Free Software Foundation (FSF). The word “Free” is to be read in the context of “Freedom” and liberty not “free” as in price. The GNU Project set out to write a Unix-compatible software system, and was led by Richard Stallman after he resigned from the MIT AI Labs in the mid-1980s. Note: Open source is different from shareware and freeware which normally do not fulfill the definitions of open source and as
