Gpl Licensing

Comptetive advantages trought tecnologies

GPL licensing

What is the free software?

The meaning of free software derives from the principles of freedom of ideas and information exchange. In the scientific discipline the principle of free information exchange is highly considered. In fact this principle is usually seen to be linked to the importance of the extraordinary growth of knowledge in the last 3 centuries.

The freedom of idea exchange is not only characterised by practical aspects, it is even the basic condition for freedom of thought and action. Like the ideas the software is immaterial, and can be copied and sent in a simple way. Everyday like the ideas, the softwares give their influence in social background, deterrminating etical,economical and politcals effects.

Richard M. Stallman, in the early 1980s, introduced the meaning of free software.The definition that Stallman gave has since been viewed as the main definition of free software and it is characterized by 4 points of liberty. These are as follows;

Liberty0 (or main freedom)

The liberty to run the programm for every aim without limit in its usage

Liberty1

The liberty to study how the program works,and taylor it for every request

Liberty2

The liberty to spread between people copies of the program

Liberty3

The liberty to impower the program and,and to destributed its apgraded versions.

The software

that is distributed that contain these criteria

are called "free software". In 1984 Richard Stallman started the "GNU project" with the aim to realise the free software concept, creating a free software fondation, to give economical, tecnical and logistic support.

Copy Right Licensing

A copyright license is a legal document usually distributed together with the fisical copy of the programme, i.e.Windows's family programs. The licence is based on the legal norm of copyright. Copyrights are the set of rules that define rights and duties for the user of the program.

Most of the commonly used licences are property licenses. It means that they can not be considered as free software because they don't respect the 4 previous caracteristics. In a lot of instances these licenses do not allow the users to copy or modify the program.

Very often if the program is istalled on the computer, the licence doesn't allow the customer to install the same program on a laptop or in another machine i.e. to use the program outside of the home building;if the program is used in a company, the licence doesn't allow the user to istall the program on any other computers, even if the the already licensed computer breaks down and no longer works.

The GNU project licence, GNU GPL, on the other hand, allows the user of the program all the 4 previos liberties. Moreover it ensure the users that those liberties can not be limited by anyone: The GPL licence is the most used for the free software.

Copy left is the criteria that estabilishes that the changing to one program can be used elsewhere with the same license given with the original program. Property licenses use the low of copyright to limit the freedom of the user of the program. Copy left uses the same rules of copyright to ensure the user that those liberties will be respected and protected.

The GNU GPL is the only one of this gender. Other kind of licenses that contain the 4 liberties can be considered as free software licences. In this group one of the most important is the BSD license, which is different from the GPL in that it is not based on the concept of copyright, and so is not included between their objectives and the aim to protect the liberty of the softwere that it is connected with.This means that those who are going to use one program protected by BSD, can do so with the changes using every kind of licenses.

Both types of free licenses, BSD and GPL have advantages and disavantages.The GPL licence is based on the idea of cooperation; that means that in order to allow others to modify my program they must do the same with their settings.The problem is that someone may consider this aspect as an impingement on their work or as a terrible limitalion.BSD license represents the concept of freedom: everyone can do whatever they want with this program.The problem is that this means that everyone can redistribute also with their own copyright one BSD modified program.In that case their costumers can't modify and redisribute it by their own.

"Urban legends"

* free software is free : False - the liberty of the usage of software

is not connected with the price.Even if most of the free software is distribuited for free, there are software developers that survive from the income generated selling and maintening of free programs developed by their own.

* Free software is without copyright : False - An individual owner of the software can decide to have copyright facilities or not. But in general it is with.i.e. are copyright licenses the BSD and GNU GPL,even if for this last one we often consider as copyleft

* The introduction of the free software

in the school system and in the public administration , or in the poor countries, could reduce the cost of the free software : This could be true but, in real costs valutation it is really difficult. All kind of softwares, whether being used in a domestic or non-domestic way, has maintenance

costs usually higher than the price that I pay for buying the good at the beginning. The reason to substain the usage of the free software is for example, for the public