This post summarizes hints about how to choose a free and open source software (FOSS) license. Choosing a FOSS License There is no a perfect open source licenses that can is suitable for all situations. It depends on the biggest…
ExifTool is both command-line tool and a Perl library to work with file metadata. It is free and open-source software (FOSS), under a license GPLv1+ or Artistic License. Installing ExifTool You can install ExifTool on macOS by typing: Getting Support…
Free and open source software (FOSS) is software that uses a software license that is both recognized as “free” by the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and “open source” by the Open Software Initiative (OSI). The definitions of “free” (based on…
Copyleft licenses are also known as reciprocate, share-alike or restrictive licenses. These licenses allow you to modify the licensed code and distribute new works based on it, as long as you distribute any new works or adaptations under the same…
Permissive licenses are also known as BSD-style or Apache-style licenses. They contain minimal requirements about how the software can be modified or redistributed, clauses that are not existent in public domain or public domain equivalent licenses.. Permissive licenses are more…
This post provides an overviews on free and open-source software (FOSS) projects. Assessing whether a Software Project should be FOSS The answer to whether a software project should be FOSS or not depends on cultural beliefs, interests, needs and environment.…
Apart from public domain, there are licenses that are considered public-domain-equivalent licenses and are very short licenses that keep no rights on the software. People considering releasing a software as public domain or equivalent should take into account that releasing…
A contributor license agreement (CLA), sometimes called participation agreement, is a document that defines the terms under which intellectual property has been contributed to a project or organization. CLAs are typically used on FOSS projects. Reasons to use a CLA…
This post is an introduction to free and open source software (FOSS) licenses. This post is part of the series of articles, whose main post is Software Licenses. Definition of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) Licenses In the world…
A software license is a written or digital document accompanying the software the defines the terms and conditions to use it. It is based on copyright laws, that protects the source code behind software. This post enumerates the main categories…