The Open Source Definition

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Open Source Definition (OSD) is a document published by the

open hardware
definitions.

History

As Netscape released the open-source Mozilla browser in 1998, Bruce Perens drafted a set of open-source guidelines to go with the release.[1] A modified version of this definition was adopted by the Open Source Initiative (OSI) as the Open Source Definition.[2][3] The OSI uses the label "open source", rather than "free software", because it felt that the latter term had undesirable ideological and political freight, and it wanted to focus on the pragmatic and business-friendly arguments for open-source software.[2] It adopted a closed rather than membership-driven organizational model in order to draft the definition and work together with a wider variety of stakeholders than other free or open-source projects.[2]

Criteria

Providing access to the source code is not enough for software to be considered "open-source".[4] The Open Source Definition requires that ten criteria be met:[5][2]

  1. Free redistribution[5]
  2. Source code must be accessible and the license must permit redistribution in the form of source code (rather than object code).[5] In order to modify the software, access to source code is required.[6]
  3. Derivative works must be allowed and able to be redistributed under the same licensing terms as the open-source product[5]
  4. The license may require that the original software be distributed intact, but only if modifications are able to be distributed as
    patches without restriction.[5][6]
  5. No discrimination between users[5]
  6. No discrimination between uses, including commercial use[5]
  7. Everyone who receives a copy of the program is granted all the open-source rights[5]
  8. The license must cover all the code, not a particular product or distribution.[5][6]
  9. There may not be restrictions on other software distributed at the same time[5]
  10. Technological neutrality—cannot restrict use to any particular technology.[5] For example, a license that requires a user to click a box agreeing to it is not free because the work cannot be distributed as a paper copy.[6]

The Open Source Definition is available under a

open source movement rather than the free software movement, and seeks to promote the availability of open-source software for anyone seeking to reuse it, even the makers of proprietary software.[2][8][6] It does not address warranty disclaimers, although these are very common in open-source software.[6] The definition does not specify a governance structure for open-source projects.[2]

Compliant licenses

The criteria are used by the OSI to approve certain licenses as compatible with the definition, and maintain a list of compliant licenses. New licenses have to submit a formal proposal that is discussed by the OSI mailing list before it is approved or rejected by the OSI board. Seven approved licenses are particularly recommended by the OSI as "popular, widely used, or having strong communities":[9]

Reception

The Open Source Definition is the most widely used definition for open-source software,[10] and is often used as a standard for whether a project is open source.[7] It and the official definitions of free software by the Free Software Foundation (FSF) essentially cover the same software licenses.[2][11] Nevertheless, there is a values difference between the free software and open source movements: the former is more based on ethics and values, the latter on pragmatism.[2]

Derived definitions

The

Open Definition is substantially derivative of the Open Source Definition.[12]

The Open Source Hardware Statement of Principles is adapted from the Open Source Definition.[13][10]

See also

References

  1. ISBN 978-0-937275-12-2
    .
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-0-19-886234-5
    .
  3. ISBN 978-0-19-260687-7
    .
  4. ISBN 978-1-107-13406-5
    .
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-1591409991
    .
  6. ^
    ISBN 978-0-596-55395-1
    .
  7. ^
    ISBN 978-1-83763-385-2
    .
  8. ISBN 978-0-470-25581-0
    .
  9. ISBN 978-0-19-886234-5
    .
  10. ^
    ISBN 978-3-030-79362-3
    .
  11. ^ Kelty, Christpher M. (2008). "The Cultural Significance of free Software – Two Bits" (PDF). Duke University Press. p. 99. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
  12. ISBN 979-8-216-06415-2
    .
  13. ISSN 2514-1708
    .
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