The four freedoms of Free Software.

This post is all about explaining what the four freedoms are, as given by Richard Stallman and the Free Software Foundation. I think this is another area that sometimes gets glossed over or ignored altogether, so I thought I would sum them up here.

Part of the problem is that so many people hear the free, and equate it with price. And it is true that Free and Open Source software is often available at little or no cost, so that's not a bad thing, but it's not the primary point either. Free Software is software that respects the user's right to do what they want and need with their computer.

Briefly, the four freedoms are:

0. The right to use the software in any manner you wish, without restrictions.

1. The right to distribute the software to as many others as you wish, without penalty.

2. The right to modify the source code, or have the source code modified, to make the program function as you need it to.

3. The right to distribute your modified copies of the program so that everyone benefits from the improvements.

I realize I started counting at zero. That is a common programming convention in numbering things and is also the way the four freedoms are most often represented, so I stuck with it.

Any software that is distributed under a GNU or GNU compatible license gives you these freedoms, as well as the source code of the program in question, or access to the source code if you want it.

Now I realize that freedoms 2 and 3 don't mean as much to end-users as to programmers, but it can be good for businesses, who can hire programmers to modify almost suitable software to be just right. It's also great for hobby programmers like myself who can study and learn and play with real world code, and not just examples from books.

Freedoms 0 and 1, however, are much more applicable to end users. What they mean is that you can be free of the licensing restrictions that govern use and installation of proprietary software. It also means that you can LEGALLY copy and share your copies of Free Software with however many people you wish. Not only can you, but you are encouraged to do so.

So, in a nutshell, that's it. Freedom that isn't just about price, but actual freedom.