Question

Jessica runs a small graphic design company called ABC Vision. To save money, she decided to use a pirated version of a popular design software instead of buying a licensed software. Her legal advisor told her to go for open source software instead of pirated software.

Answer the questions based on the above case study:

1. What is open source software?
2. Give any two examples of open source software.
3. Mention any two advantages of open source software.
4. Define the term “Software License”.

Answer 1

a. Open-source software (OSS) is licensed computer software with publicly available source code for public use. It allows users to use, study, modify, and distribute software without restriction.

b. Examples of OSS include Linux, Mozilla (Other correct examples: MySQL, Apache, LibreOffice, GIMP, etc.).

c. Two advantages of open source software:

1. Cost-effectiveness
2. Flexibility

d. A software license is a legal agreement that allows users the right to use, copy, distribute, or modify software while also defining the terms and conditions under which they can do so.