Open Source Software is software governed by an Open Source Initiative (OSI) approved license. It is sometimes referred to as Free Software (free as in freedom, not as in no-cost). Proprietary Software is usually a commercial software where the source code is kept secret. Open source software however makes the source code public and requires free sharing and redistribution.
The OSI approved licenses also have additional requirements, including in part:
- The ability to make derived works
- Guidelines for maintaining the integrity of the author’s source code
- Prohibition of discrimination against both persons, groups, and fields of endeavor
- Rules for the distribution of license, as well as rules for technological neutrality and for preventing licensing restriction for specific products or systems
The three most popular open source licenses are:
- MIT License (the license selected by First-Timers-Only)
- GNU General Public License (GPL 2.0)
- Apache License 2.0