IPA IP 2024 Question 97
A question IPA Japan published in 令和6年度 ITパスポート試験 公開問題 問97, translated into English. ITPEC is based on the same exams.
Among the following OSs, which of the following lists all and only those that are provided as OSS (Open Source Software)?
Explanation
Android, FreeBSD and Linux — their source code is published under open source licenses; iOS is Apple's proprietary OS.
- •Android — Google's OS for smartphones and tablets; its base is published as the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), mostly under the Apache License, on a Linux kernel
- •FreeBSD — a UNIX-like OS descended from BSD UNIX, distributed under the BSD license
- •iOS — Apple's OS for the iPhone; its source code is not published, and it is licensed only for Apple's own devices
- •Linux — the kernel started by Linus Torvalds and developed by a community under the GNU GPL; distributions build complete OSs on it
So A, B and D are OSS.
Answer (b)
Why not others:
- •(a) A, B — leaves out Linux, the best-known OSS OS
- •(c) B, D — leaves out Android; the Google apps on many phones are proprietary, but the Android OS itself is open source
- •(d) C, D — includes iOS, which is proprietary, and leaves out Android and FreeBSD
Key rule: OSS means the source code is published under a license that allows anyone to use, modify and redistribute it; being free of charge or widely used does not make software OSS.
Software · AI-written, may contain errors
This question comes from the past questions IPA Japan publishes, translated into English by ITPEC Practice. ITPEC Practice is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with IPA or ITPEC. See the original paper (PDF) or Report an issue.