Meaning of free software (what is it, concept and definition)

What is Free Software:

Free software is a computer program where the user who owns the program has the freedom to copy, modify, redistribute and distribute it for the benefit of a community.

Free software does not mean that it is free, although it can also be free. Free software comes from freedom or ' freedom of expression ' and involves 4 fundamental freedoms to be considered free software :

• freedom to run the program no matter what the purpose is. freedom to access the source code: this means the ability to study and modify the program freedom to redistribute the program and freedom to distribute copies of modified versions.

If the execution or use of software that is considered free is connected to the execution of another that is not, then it should not be considered free but rather a deceptive practice called "tivoization", "blocking" or called by interested companies as " safe boot ”.

The softwares free are generally associated with gratuity but marketing software free is also common and plays an important role in the systematic improvement programs.

The software available also characterized or known that can be downloaded, usually free of charge via the Internet. Some examples of free software are:

• LINUX: operating system Open Office: analogous to Windows Office programs that are proprietary software Gimp: image editor Ubuntu: operating system VLC: multimedia player Jquery: library that facilitates programming of the Javascript language.

The advantages of free software are its low cost and its flexibility of customization and modification if there are any errors. The disadvantage of free software is precisely the modification, since for a person who does not have minimal programming knowledge, they would not know what to do if an error appears.

Skype for example is free software but not free software .