ITPEC IP October 2020 Question 21

Topic: SoftwareAlso asked in October 2022

Which of the following is an appropriate combination of software that includes only OSS (Open Source Software)?

a)Internet Explorer, Linux, PostgreSQLb)Internet Explorer, PostgreSQL, Windowsc)Firefox, Linux, Thunderbirdd)Firefox, Thunderbird, Windows

Explanation

Firefox, Linux, Thunderbird — all three are open source; every other option includes a Microsoft product.

OSS is software whose source code is published under a licence that lets anyone use, modify and redistribute it.

•Firefox — web browser from the Mozilla project (Mozilla Public License)
•Thunderbird — e-mail client, also from Mozilla
•Linux — OS kernel (GNU GPL)
•PostgreSQL — relational DBMS, also OSS
•Internet Explorer and Windows — proprietary: Microsoft keeps the source code closed; Internet Explorer came free with Windows, but costing nothing does not make it open source

Answer (c)

Why not others:

•(a) — Linux and PostgreSQL are OSS, but Internet Explorer is proprietary
•(b) — PostgreSQL is OSS, but Internet Explorer and Windows are both proprietary
•(d) — Firefox and Thunderbird are OSS, but Windows is proprietary

Key rule: Free of charge does not make software OSS; what counts is that the source is available and may be modified and redistributed.

Software · AI-written, may contain errors

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