What is Free Software?

Until the 1970s software and source codes were freely available to users. Since the mid-1970s software has been increasingly coded using machine-readable language, which is almost unintelligible for humans. Freely available software has then been gradually replaced by proprietary software, i.e. software owned by a proprietor. However, since the mid-eighties a sort of countermovement, against this practice, has formed, leading to the development, production and distribution of free software. Today free software users are well aware of its meaning and vision. Free software, also known as Open-Source-Software, is seen not only as a way to consciously return to the very first software development methods, but also as an alternative to proprietary software. This type of software has become gradually established as a term to express a specific notion: that is why the Free Software Center decided to treat it as a proper noun, thus using capital letters and always referring to it as Free Software.

Free Software is free to the fourth power!

Richard Stallman and the Free Software Foundation (FSF) established that software can be considered free if users are granted at least the following four principles of freedom:

1. Freedom 0, the freedom to run the program for any purpose;

2. Freedom 1, the freedom to understand and study how the program works and adapt it to one’s needs;

3. Freedom 2, the freedom to copy and redistribute the program;

4. Freedom 3, the freedom to improve the program and release the improvements to the public.

Whenever these freedoms are restricted or the terms established not complied with, software is defined as proprietary or non-free.

Free Software does not mean free of charge!

The term “free” as used in Free Software does not always mean free of charge. Richard Stallman has often explained the principle of freedom with the following example: "Free software is a matter of liberty, not price. Free as in free speech, not as in free beer". Let us be clear: talking about Free Software means referring to freedom, not to price. The idea behind the “free” notion goes hand in hand with free access. Thus, Free Software must be considered different from Freeware, i.e. the truly free of charge item of the software industry.

This is how Free Software is free!

Freedom 0

Free Software allows users to run the program for any purpose. For this reason, the use of Free Software has no restriction, such as “for personal use only” or “one month evaluation version”.

Freedom 1

An essential prerequisite for freedom 1 and 3 is free access and, consequently, the source code must be available. Having access to the source code is the only way for users to be able to adjust, modify or integrate the program, as well as eliminate possible errors. This may not always mean quality improvement for users. It may, in certain cases, even sound frightening. However, it is not necessary to be an expert programmer to benefit from the availability of the source code. After all, friends can help you make possible adjustments or assistance may be asked from somebody in the local community. Having the possibility of modifying Free Software is important and the reason can be easily understood. Let us explain it by making a culinary comparison. Suppose you are a vegetarian. While surfing the internet, one day you find an interesting recipe and you would like to prepare it for yourself. Unfortunately, meat is one of the ingredients and the person who invented the recipe forbids its change or adjustment. Wouldn’t you agree this is totally absurd? It is, indeed! It is regrettable that similar situations are normal practice in the world of proprietary software.

Freedom 2

Distributing proprietary or non-free software constitutes in many cases a licence violation and it is liable to prosecution. However, such illegal distribution is not regarded as a real offence by most users, and this has brought about a widespread dissemination of pirate copies of programs. On the contrary, Free Software can be copied or distributed without limitations, against the payment of a fee or free of charge. This gives many advantages to all users, including companies and institutions, such as schools and universities. Let us go back to the recipe comparison: have you ever been invited to dinner and been offered a truly delicious dish? You would probably like to ask for the recipe and obtain it from the cook without any restrictions. This is exactly how things should be with software too.

Freedom 3

Differently from proprietary software, Free Software can be modified and improved by anyone, and improvements can be made available and distributed in an unrestricted manner. This freedom has a significant influence on the development of Free Software. Globally, anyone interested in contributing to develop, improve, and create new software products can do it autonomously and independently, as is the case with GNU/Linux. This way, it is possible to constantly improve the software in use. Without these freedoms, producers maintain full control over their software version, which will continue to be distributed unchanged. If, when and what types of modifications and improvements might be made, it all depends exclusively on the producer.