What is the difference between free software and open source software? – rea corporativa Banco Santander

The content generated by users is a trend that we are used to seeing on the Internet and that we see every day on social media. In the world of IT, it is also possible to create or improve applications, tools or programs using the same collaborative model.

Explained in a very simple way, a software program is a set of computer instructions needed for our electronic devices to perform the tasks they are designed for. These instructions, which are written in a programming language, are known as source code. Although we tend to associate the word software with computers or smartphones, most of the devices we now have at home or in the office have integrated software: televisions, video game consoles, cleaning robots, smartwatches, etc.

You have probably had to call for technical support when one of these devices has stopped working properly but, can you imagine being able to fix it yourself? In the 80s, US programmer Richard Stallman worked in an office where the printer often had paper jams. His colleagues would only notice the problem when finding that the documents they had sent to the printer hadnt been printed. He decided to modify the printers source code so that whenever there was a paper jam, the users would receive a notification alerting them of the error so that they could fix it.

After a while, the office replaced the printer with a new one and the problems caused by the paper jams returned. This time, Stallman was unable to do the same thing he had done with the previous printer, because access to the source code had been restricted by the manufacturer. That was when he started a "free software movement", which sought to give users the freedom to view, modify and distribute the source code to adapt it to their needs.

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What is the difference between free software and open source software? - rea corporativa Banco Santander