Defining Open Source
Confusion about the term freedom was the very reason the term open source was created. The newer term refers to an important concept well understood by anyone who has ever written computer software: Programmers write source code to direct computers to perform specific tasks, while the computer itself takes care of the routine task of translating the source code into an executable program. For a computer programmer, understanding and modifying software requires access to the source code. The source code must be open—made available for all to see—in order that the software can be studied, changed, and improved.
Open source code is an essential requirement for software freedom, a technical prerequisite. Software freedom is the ...
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