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Software consists of computer programs that instruct the execution of a computer. [2] Building on previous innovations in mathematics and technology, software was created for the programmable digital computers that emerged in the late 1940s and was necessary to realize their usefulness.
Open-source software ( OSS) is computer software that is released under a license in which the copyright holder grants users the rights to use, study, change, and distribute the software and its source code to anyone and for any purpose. [1] [2] Open-source software may be developed in a collaborative, public manner.
Free software, on the other hand, is a more informal classification that does not rely on official recognition. Nevertheless, software licensed under licenses that do not meet the Free Software Definition cannot rightly be considered free software.
"Free and open-source software" (FOSS) is an umbrella term for software that is simultaneously considered both free software and open-source software. The precise definition of the terms "free software" and "open-source software" applies them to any software distributed under terms that allow users to use, modify, and redistribute said software in any manner they see fit, without requiring ...
Application software. An application program ( software application, or application, or app for short) is a computer program designed to carry out a specific task other than one relating to the operation of the computer itself, [1] typically to be used by end-users. [2] Word processors, media players, and accounting software are examples.
Open Source Initiative logo. Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, [1] design documents, [2] or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized software development model that encourages open collaboration.
Software – collection of computer programs and related data that provides the information for the functioning of a computer. It is held in various forms of memory of the computer. It comprises procedures, algorithms, and documentation concerned with the operation of a data processing system. The term was coined to contrast to the term ...
The Free Software Definition written by Richard Stallman and published by the Free Software Foundation (FSF), defines free software as being software that ensures that the users have freedom in using, studying, sharing and modifying that software. The term "free" is used in the sense of "free speech," not of "free of charge."