What is Open Source Software ?

• Open-source software (OSS) is computer software that is available in source code form: the source code and certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under a software license that permits users to study, change, improve and at times also to distribute the software. 

• Some open source licenses meet the requirements of the Open Source Definition. Some open source software is available within the public domain.

• Open source software is very often developed in a public, collaborative manner. Open-source software is the most prominent example of open-source development and often compared to (technically defined) user-generated content or (legally defined) open content movements. 

 

---> Reference From ::

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source_software