2.2.9

Licensing Issues

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Licensing Issues with Open Source Software

Using open source software can lead to many licensing issues.

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Open source licenses

  • Not all open source software can be used in exactly the same way.
  • Different licenses determine what can be done with the software's source code.
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Licenses

  • A license is a set of rules which tell a consumer what they can and cannot do with a piece of software.
  • For example:
    • You can / cannot distribute this software.
    • You can / cannot resell this software.
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Open source programming

  • If you create a project which makes use of open source components, licensing issues can get very complicated.
  • Usually, open source licenses state that if you use the open source software in a project, then your project must also be open source licensed. This can affect your ability to sell your software.
  • Things can get very tricky when multiple components are used, all with different licenses.

Jump to other topics

1Components of a Computer

2Software & Software Development

3Exchanging Data

4Data Types, Data Structures & Algorithms

5Legal, Moral, Cultural & Ethical Issues

6Elements of Computational Thinking

6.1Thinking Abstractly

6.2Thinking Ahead

6.3Thinking Procedurally

6.4Thinking Logically

6.5Thinking Concurrently

7Problem Solving & Programming

8Algorithms

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