What is open source software ?
Posted on Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at 4:00 pmIf you aren’t sure of what’s Open source software and the differences in licensing, I’ll explain it here.
What is BSD and GNU GPL license? The GPL license is a copyleft license, used to retain software usage free for others. Source codes must be provided together as well. Any changes done to the source have to be provided as well.
BSD
For BSD licensing, the difference is that source codes need not be provided. Thus this licensing allows developers to use the code and modify it, without releasing the modified codes. Though one of the conditions to meet, is that the author have to give credits to the source where he got its code from.
Software licensed under the BSD licensing would be a better choice for businesses. After some research from the open source community, we have compared GPL and BSD licensing, and found out that more businesses prefer the BSD license model.
Firstly, BSD it helps business developers and enterprise customers with a more suitable and sustainable approach to open source software. It allows other people to own the BSD licensed codes, add modifications to it, and commercialized it. This will help other companies to develop their own proprietary software.
Secondly, it ensures a longer technological advancement, such as the internet’s TCP/IP protocol, HTTP protocol and etc. Engineers and scientists develop these technologies, in hope that commercial companies like Microsoft would use their code, and develop something out of it. These commercial companies are not liable to showing their modifications. This sets a standard among the rest, retaining the protocol, but allows the protocol to be embedded into proprietary software. In this way, Giant software makers like Microsoft can protect their code, package it into their own software and sell it off.
However, these supporting points may or may not solve legal issues between companies. For example, software licensed in BSD, with codes for distribution, may be copied by some other people, without giving credits to the original writer. As a fact on BSD licensing, its main purpose wasn’t intended to copy protect the codes fully, so it depends on how much restriction and freedom the company is willing to release to the public.
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GPL
As for GPL licensing, it is mainly good for developing better software, improving the quality. This doesn’t help in generating profits, as you have to provide the codes to the software you distribute or modified, for free. Companies who wish to modify and placed codes into their own commercial software will not be able to do so. Unless they are fine with showing their source codes to everyone who uses it, profit-orientated business are more likely to protect their code so that nobody can misuse it.
Even as restrictions set in, GPL licensing do allow businesses to operate, but on a condition. Only service fees are chargable, not for the purchase of software. Serivces offered includes catered technical help, immediate update services, and specialised support.
In summary, in order for software to stay free, GPL license would be a better choice. This benefits the majority of the open source community users. And as for BSD licensing, it is more likely adopted by corporates and businesses, to serve enterprise users who wish to sell their software as a product, as well as to standardised technology and promote it.
Without open source software, you won’t get to see PHP in action, along with other open source stuff that are freely avaiable on the market. Remember, its for the community, by the community.





