Gnu Public License

GNU Public License

POS 355

December 3, 2012

Alicia Pearlman

GNU Public License

The GNU project started in 1984 to develop the GNU operating system ("The Gnu General Public License", n.d.). The operating system is similar to that of UNIX consisting of applications, developing tools, and libraries. The kernel of GNU known as the “Hurd” has been developed to interact with the hardware and allocate resources. According to "The Gnu General Public License" (n.d.),the kernel is some way from being used on a daily basis. For this reason the GNU is used with a solid proven kernel such as LINUX. The combination is called GNU/Linux operating system which is used by millions of people worldwide.

Free Software

The GNU is free software where the users have the rights to execute, study, copy, alter, distribute, and improve the software("The Gnu General Public License", n.d.). The software is based off of 4 different freedoms:

• Freedom 0: Freedom to run the program for any purpose.

• Freedom 1: Freedom to analyze the program to see how it works, and adapt it to the needs of the programmer. A precondition to this freedom is access to the source code.

• Freedom 2: Freedom to redistribute the software to better your neighbor.

• Freedom 3: Freedom to improve the program and release those improvements to the public for all to benefit from the changes. A precondition to this freedom is access to the source code.

Based on these freedoms the works published by a programmer have to be available to the next programmer so they may tailor the software to their needs.

Differences

The majority of software published for mainstream users has a copy-write associated to it. The copy-write bars a programmer from looking at the source code, which is generally proprietary to the company who designed it. Windows operating system for instance is protected by copy-write. A programmer is not afforded the freedoms associated with a GNU program. Microsoft would never allow...