Open source

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Open source is a method and philosophy for software licensing and distribution designed to encourage use and improvement of software written by volunteers by ensuring that anyone can copy the source code and modify it freely.
==Description==
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The term "open source" is now more widely used than the earlier term "free software" (promoted by the ) but has broadly the same meaning - free of distribution restrictions, not necessarily free of charge. There are various open source licenses available, such as the . Programmers can choose an appropriate license to use when distributing their programs.. 1999-12-29.
===Apple's usage of open source===
On January 7, 2003, CEO Steve Jobs announced at Macworld Expo in San Francisco that Apple Computer (now Apple Inc.) was using open source code from the WebKit browser engine in its Safari web browser.Steve Jobs wanted Apple’s browser Safari called “Freedom” by Chris Foresman, Ars Technica. 2012-12-20.Steve Jobs: an open source pioneer? You bet by Paula Rooney, ZDNet. 2011-10-06. The company presently utilizes open source methods for the development of portions of its software that it does not protect as trade secrets, such as the XNU kernel of macOS and iOS.Apple macOS and iOS XNU kernel source code is now available on GitHub by Vineet Choudhary, Developer Insider. 2017-10-04.
==References==
==See also==
*Apple Public Source License
==External links==
*Apple Open Source official reference library
*Free Software Foundation (FSF) official website
*GNU General Public License at the Open Source Initiative
* at Wikipedia
Category:Terms