What is the difference between Open Source and Free Software?

Open Source software is a type of software whose source code can be gotten and used by anybody. Free Software, on the other hand, refers to software that can be gotten for free; that is, you didn't need to pay for it. Free software can also be called freeware. This is available to users for free so that they can also manipulate it into something else that can be gotten for free by another person. Free software is not actually free as it sounds because you must be able to agree with certain conditions specified by the maker.

In this way, we can say, free software is a bit stricter than open-source software because Open Source software grants you free access to its source code so that you can study it and use it for something else. With this explanation, it means we can classify Free software as Open source software, but Open source software may not always be classified as Free software

The difference between free software and open-source software can be confusing. Open-source software refers to software that has source code which is made publicly available under a license. The phrase was coined in 1998. Open-source software gives the coder the opportunity to have some control over his software. Free software, on the other hand, refers to software that a user can run, modify and share with others without legal restraint.

The phrased was coined in the 1980s by Richard Stallman. Free software foundation has some criteria for the software to be considered free. These include freedom to run the software, freedom to adapt, freedom to distribute copies and freedom to distribute modified versions. Hope you find this information helpful.

Open-source software and free software are two movements that have arrived at their peak as commercialized propriety software. Free software is open-source software, but open-source software might not necessarily be free software. Open-source software allows the coder to have some control over his program compared to free software.

Open-source software can work with other software, while free software does not allow this. Also, the coder of open-source software can stipulate whether a user is allowed to redistribute the modified code or not. However, this is not a possibility with free software, which explicitly states that the modified code obtained from free software should also be released as free software.

Do you prefer using open source or free software? It will be hard to choose when you do not know the difference between the two. Free software means that users will have the right to use the software in different ways. They can run the software and make sure that they will study and change the software.

Open source is more focused on the possible consequences that may occur when using the software. A lot of people are still confused about these things but the main difference is their licenses and what can be done with the software when it becomes available to people.

It can be confusing to know the difference between free and open-source software but these are different from each other. Free software will make sure that it can run the program that they wish without any charges. People will also have the freedom to check how the program works if they please. Open-Source means that the software is not restricted to be used just by one program alone.

It can be used for different programs if they feel that this is the software that will be most ideal for them. Open-Source will also make sure that this can be used by all people and groups. There should not be any discrimination involved.