We explain what Free Software is and the freedoms that this type of program allows. Also, the types that exist and some examples.
What is Free Software?
Free Software is called those computer programs that give their users, by explicit decision of their programmers and designers, the access to the source code or original programming code in which they were manufactured so you can freely copy, modify, customize and distribute it. This gives rise, therefore, to multiple versions of the same program, the appearance of which does not represent a legal or ethical violation of the original program.
The term Free Software is attributed to the American Richard Stallman, who was the founder of the Free Software Foundation (Free Software Foundation) in which a significant number of expert computer scientists aspired to develop a completely free Operating System, which they called the GNU Project (To distinguish it from Unix).
This project would allow its advanced users to collaborate with its development and improvement, free of charge and as a community, going against traditional software companies, which guard the source code of their products.
Although many Free Software presentations are free or cost the equivalent of distribution only (and not payment of copyright), Free Software should not be confused with Freeware o Free software (usually in trial versions), nor should it be interpreted as a plea in favor of piracy (theft of copyrighted software).
The idea is precisely to create software that belongs to those who use it and that can be adapted to their needs by themselves.
There is an important tendency, especially in countries of the so-called Third World, to implement only Free Software in their official institutions or state organizations, thus replacing programs protected by copyright that generate annual expenses in renewing licenses.
This in addition to saving money provides greater autonomy in the management of your information and allows them to avoid risks to their sovereignty, since the free code of these pieces of software can be adapted free of charge to their specific needs.
See also: Application software
Essential freedoms
Known as “the four essential freedoms”, the following set of permissions is essential to distinguish between Free Software and traditional commercial software.
- Freedom #0 Freedom to run the program however you want, for whatever purpose you have, without needing to notify anyone.
- Freedom #1 Freedom to study how the program works and alter it to perform the tasks you want. For this, free access to the program's source code is a requirement.
- Freedom #2 Freedom to redistribute copies of the original program, for the enjoyment and help of the community, without the need to notify anyone.
- Freedom #3 Freedom to distribute copies of modified versions to third parties, without the need to notify anyone, allowing the entire community to benefit from alterations and new versions of the program.
A program is considered Free Software if it gives its users all of these freedoms described. Otherwise, it is not a free program. There are various non-free distributions of programs obtained by modifying the source code of these free programs, which is considered by the Free Software community to be unethical.
Types of free software
In principle, Free Software can be of any type, from operating systems to control the operation and resources of the computer in a personalized way, to applications adaptable to user needs intervenable video games, and peripheral management programs that can be modified and thus meet the specific requirements of various pieces of hardware.
Examples of free software
Some of the most popular distributions or presentations in the world of Free Software are the following:
- GNU/Linux One of the most historically and popularly important programs, it led the effort for open source software in the Internet world since 1983.
- Chrome OS Based on the Linux kernel, this operating system currently under development by Google Inc. will use the Google Chrome browser as its main interface and is 100% cloud-based.
- VALO-CD It is a CD with open source software designed to operate under the Microsoft Windows environment, developed by Finnish programmers in 2008.
- OpenDisc Another set of open source tools designed to run on Microsoft Windows, created in 2007 to educate users on using Linux.
- Ubuntu. It is a free GNU/Linux distribution that uses GNOME technology as its virtual desktop environment, whose creative company survives by offering technical support to its users.
