Open science programmes: open, free or gratis?
When choosing a software tool, people explore various options to find what works best, including what is most affordable. For decades, there has been a strong tradition of providing stable and powerful software for free. While these programmes may seem the same from a practical perspective (e.g., you don't have to pay to use them), there are important philosophical, practical, and economic distinctions based on their design, development, and sharing processes. These distinctions are particularly relevant to the concept of open science.
The term open source refers to software designed by a community of experts who focus on the principle of utility. These programmes are intended to be freely accessible and redistributable. The success and widespread use of collaboratively developed products has led to the idea that this approach could be used for building other types of knowledge, such as scientific knowledge, in line with the principles of open science. Through open access and the FAIR principles, this movement collaborates on and contributes to various projects, including the development of applications using collective, shared work methods. These methods include "open review" and process transparency, which ensure superior quality, better reliability and flexibility, lower costs, and freedom from vendor commercial restrictions.
Open programmes:
• Can be freely modified and customized by anyone;
• Are reviewed, updated, and improved by a large network of experts and users, enhancing functionality and performance;
• Do not have proprietary specifications;
• Also have continuous updates;
• Have bugs and malfunctions that are identified more quickly and easily.
To make a programme open, rights holders use specific software licenses. An interesting overview of the available licenses and their characteristics is published on the GNU operating system website.
For a software programme to be considered open source, its distribution terms (i.e., its licenses) must meet the criteria outlined by the Open Source Initiative in the Open Source Definition.
- Free Redistribution. The license cannot restrict the sale or transfer of the application as part of a distribution containing programmes from different sources and cannot require a royalty or other fee;
- Source Code. The programme must include the source code and allow for distribution in both source code and compiled form. If a product is not distributed with the source code, there must be a well-publicized means of obtaining it, preferably by a free download over the internet;
- Derived Works. The license must allow modifications to the source code and the creation of derived works, ensuring their distribution under the same terms as the original software;
- Integrity of The Author's Source Code. The license must explicitly allow the distribution of a programme created from a modified source code. It may require that derived works be named or numbered differently from the original programme;
- No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups. The license must not discriminate against any person or group of people;
- No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor. The license must not prevent the use of the programme in a specific field of activity;
- Distribution of License. The rights attached to the programme must apply to all to whom the programme is redistributed, without the need for those people to sign an additional license;
- License Must Not Be Specific to a Product. The rights attached to the programme must not depend on the distribution of the software;
- License Must Not Restrict Other Software. The license must not impose restrictions on other programmes distributed alongside the licensed software;
- License Must Be Technology-Neutral. No provision in the license may impose any particular technology or interface style.
The term free software indicates a programme that can be used, copied, distributed, studied, modified, and improved freely by the user. The Free Software movement's philosophy is based on freedom and establishes four conditions that must be met for a programme to be defined as free:
• Freedom 0: The freedom to run the programme for any purpose;
• Freedom 1: The freedom to study how the programme works and adapt it to your needs;
• Freedom 2: The freedom to redistribute copies to help others;
• Freedom 3: The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others, so the entire community can benefit.
Essential freedoms 1 and 3 are only guaranteed if the programme's source code is accessible. Free software does not mean "non-commercial." This is a common misunderstanding that comes from the dual meaning of the English word "free" ("libero" and "gratuito"). A free programme can be commercial since it is also available for commercial use, development, and distribution.
The generic term freeware indicates a proprietary programme distributed with a license that allows for its free use and redistribution. Categories of freeware include:
• Public domain software: Programmes for which the author waives all rights to its use;
• Abandonware: Obsolete versions of commercial programmes;
• Freemium: Programmes that only allow the use of some features in a paid version.
To learn more:
• The Journal of Open Source Software is a developer-friendly, open access journal for research software packages;
• "Open source" entry on Wikipedia;
• Open data handbook glossary;
• Open Source Initiative;
• The Open Source Way;
• Free Software Foundation.