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<TITLE>What is Free Software? - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation (FSF)</TITLE> |
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<H3>What is Free Software?</H3> |
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<A HREF="/graphics/philosophicalgnu.html"><IMG SRC="/graphics/philosophical-gnu-sm.jpg" |
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[ |
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<A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.nl.html">Dutch</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.html">English</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.fr.html">French</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.it.html">Italian</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.ja.html">Japanese</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.ko.html">Korean</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.no.html">Norwegian</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.pt.html">Portuguese</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.ru.html">Russian</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.es.html">Spanish</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.tr.html">Turkish</A> |
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] |
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<P> |
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``Free software'' is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand |
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the concept, you should think of ``free speech'', not ``free beer.'' |
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<P> |
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``Free software'' refers to the users' freedom to run, copy, |
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distribute, study, change and improve the software. More precisely, |
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it refers to four kinds of freedom, for the users of the software: |
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<P> |
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<UL> |
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<LI>The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0). |
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<LI>The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs |
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(freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this. |
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<LI>The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor |
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(freedom 2). |
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<LI>The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements |
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to the public, so that the whole community benefits. |
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(freedom 3). Access to the source code is a precondition for this. |
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</UL> |
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<P> |
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A program is free software if users have all of these freedoms. |
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Thus, you should be free to redistribute copies, either with or |
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without modifications, either gratis or charging a fee for |
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distribution, to <A HREF="#exportcontrol">anyone anywhere</A>. Being |
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free to do these things means (among other things) that you do not |
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have to ask or pay for permission. |
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|
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<P> |
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You should also have the freedom to make modifications and use them |
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privately in your own work or play, without even mentioning that they |
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exist. If you do publish your changes, you should not be required to |
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notify anyone in particular, or in any particular way. |
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<P> |
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The freedom to use a program means the freedom for any kind of person |
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or organization to use it on any kind of computer system, for any kind |
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of overall job, and without being required to communicate subsequently |
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with the developer or any other specific entity. |
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<P> |
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The freedom to redistribute copies must include binary or executable |
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forms of the program, as well as source code. (It is ok if there is |
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no way to produce a binary or executable form, but people must have |
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the freedom to redistribute such forms should they find a way to make |
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them.) |
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<P> |
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In order for the freedoms to make changes, and to publish improved |
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versions, to be meaningful, you must have access to the source code of |
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the program. Therefore, accessibility of source code is a necessary |
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condition for free software. |
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<P> |
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In order for these freedoms to be real, they must be irrevocable as |
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long as you do nothing wrong; if the developer of the software has the |
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power to revoke the license, without your doing anything to give |
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cause, the software is not free. |
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<P> |
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However, certain kinds of rules about the manner of distributing free |
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software are acceptable, when they don't conflict with the central |
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freedoms. For example, copyleft (very simply stated) is the rule that |
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when redistributing the program, you cannot add restrictions to deny |
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other people the central freedoms. This rule does not conflict with |
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the central freedoms; rather it protects them. |
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|
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<P> |
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Thus, you may have paid money to get copies of GNU software, or you |
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may have obtained copies at no charge. But regardless of how you got |
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your copies, you always have the freedom to copy and change the |
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software, even to <A HREF="/philosophy/selling.html">sell copies</A>. |
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<P> |
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``Free software'' does not mean ``non-commercial''. A free program |
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must be available for commercial use. Commercial development of free |
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software is no longer unusual; such programs are free commercial |
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software. |
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<P> |
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Rules about how to package a modified version are acceptable, if they |
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don't effectively block your freedom to release modified versions. |
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Rules that ``if you make the program available in this way, you must |
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make it available in that way also'' can be acceptable too, on the |
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same condition. (Note that such a rule still leaves you the choice of |
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whether to publish the program or not.) |
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<P> |
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In the GNU project, we use <A HREF="/copyleft/copyleft.html"> |
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``copyleft''</A> to protect these freedoms legally for everyone. But |
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<A HREF="/philosophy/categories.html#Non-CopyleftedFreeSoftware"> |
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non-copylefted free software</A> also exists. We believe there are |
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important reasons why <A HREF="/philosophy/pragmatic.html"> it is |
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better to use copyleft</A>, but if your program is non-copylefted free |
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software, we can still use it. |
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|
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<P> |
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See <A HREF="/philosophy/categories.html">Categories of Free Software |
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(18k characters)</A> |
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for a description of how ``free software,'' ``copylefted software'' and |
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other categories of software relate to each other. |
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|
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<P> |
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Sometimes government <A NAME="exportcontrol">export control |
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regulations</A> and trade sanctions can constrain your freedom to |
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distribute copies of programs internationally. Software developers do |
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not have the power to eliminate or override these restrictions, but |
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what they can and must do is refuse to impose them as conditions of |
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use of the program. In this way, the restrictions will not affect |
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activities and people outside the jurisdictions of these governments. |
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<P> |
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When talking about free software, it is best to avoid using terms like |
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``give away'' or ``for free'', because those terms imply that the |
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issue is about price, not freedom. Some common terms such as |
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``piracy'' embody opinions we hope you won't endorse. See <A |
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HREF="/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html">Confusing Words and Phrases |
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that are Worth Avoiding</A> for a discussion of these terms. |
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We also have a list of <A HREF="/philosophy/fs-translations.html">translations |
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of "free software"</A> into various languages. |
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<HR> |
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|
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<H4><A HREF="/philosophy/philosophy.html">Other Texts to Read</A></H4> |
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|
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<P> |
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Another group has started using the term <A |
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HREF="free-software-for-freedom.html"> open source</A> to mean |
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something close (but not identical) to "free software". |
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<HR> |
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|
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Return to <A HREF="/home.html">GNU's home page</A>. |
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<P> |
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FSF & GNU inquiries & questions to |
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<A HREF="mailto:gnu@gnu.org"><EM>gnu@gnu.org</EM></A>. |
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Other <A HREF="/home.html#ContactInfo">ways to contact</A> the FSF. |
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<P> |
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Comments on these web pages to |
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<A HREF="mailto:webmasters@www.gnu.org"><EM>webmasters@www.gnu.org</EM></A>, |
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send other questions to |
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<A HREF="mailto:gnu@gnu.org"><EM>gnu@gnu.org</EM></A>. |
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<P> |
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Copyright (C) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc., |
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59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111, USA |
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<P> |
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Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is |
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permitted in any medium, provided this notice is preserved.<P> |
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Updated: |
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<!-- hhmts start --> |
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24 Jan 2001 mhw |
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