Gratis versus libre is the distinction between "for zero price" (gratis) and "freedom" (libre). gratis appears in many English dictionaries, including the Oxford English Dictionary. However, libre does so less commonly, and no English adjective signifies "liberty" exclusively and as distinct from "at no monetary cost". This distinction is often important in dealing with laws concerning the use of information, such as copyright and patents. The terms are often used in the free software and open source communities, as well as the broader free culture movement, to categorize computer programs according to the licenses and legal restrictions that cover them. Both this expression and the term gratis are used to distinguish freeware (gratis software) from free (libre) software.
Gratis
Gratis is the plural ablative and dative form of the first-declension noun grātia in Latin and used as an adjective in various Romance and Germanic languages (for example, Italian, Spanish, German and Swedish) meaning "for free", "free of charge", "at zero cost", in the sense that one does not have to pay for some good or service, even though the good or service may have value.
Libre
Libre is a word in various Romance languages, including Spanish and French, and descends from the Latin word līber; they denote "the state of being free", as in "having freedom" or "liberty"."Free as in beer", "free as in speech"
As the word "free" in English does not distinguish between gratis and libre, members of the free software community draw a distinction between "free" as in "free speech" (libre) and "free" as in "free beer" (gratis). By "free software", they mean libre. The phrases "free as in beer" and "free as in speech" have become common catchphrases, along with libre and gratis, in the software development and computer law fields for encapsulating the distinction.See also
References
- "Free, as in Beer" by Lawrence Lessig, Wired
- Free as in Speech and Beer, book by Darren Wershler-Henry
- "Say 'Libre, and related discussion regarding knowledge and learning resources.
- Stallman's discussion of FreeAsInBeer
- Wired on the first open source beer
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Thursday October 09, 2008 at 10:44:51 PDT (GMT -0700)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation
Gratis versus libre is the distinction between "for zero price" (gratis) and "freedom" (libre). gratis appears in many English dictionaries, including the Oxford English Dictionary. However, libre does so less commonly, and no English adjective signifies "liberty" exclusively and as distinct from "at no monetary cost". This distinction is often important in dealing with laws concerning the use of information, such as copyright and patents. The terms are often used in the free software and open source communities, as well as the broader free culture movement, to categorize computer programs according to the licenses and legal restrictions that cover them. Both this expression and the term gratis are used to distinguish freeware (gratis software) from free (libre) software.
Gratis
Gratis is the plural ablative and dative form of the first-declension noun grātia in Latin and used as an adjective in various Romance and Germanic languages (for example, Italian, Spanish, German and Swedish) meaning "for free", "free of charge", "at zero cost", in the sense that one does not have to pay for some good or service, even though the good or service may have value.
Libre
Libre is a word in various Romance languages, including Spanish and French, and descends from the Latin word līber; they denote "the state of being free", as in "having freedom" or "liberty"."Free as in beer", "free as in speech"
As the word "free" in English does not distinguish between gratis and libre, members of the free software community draw a distinction between "free" as in "free speech" (libre) and "free" as in "free beer" (gratis). By "free software", they mean libre. The phrases "free as in beer" and "free as in speech" have become common catchphrases, along with libre and gratis, in the software development and computer law fields for encapsulating the distinction.See also
References
- "Free, as in Beer" by Lawrence Lessig, Wired
- Free as in Speech and Beer, book by Darren Wershler-Henry
- "Say 'Libre, and related discussion regarding knowledge and learning resources.
- Stallman's discussion of FreeAsInBeer
- Wired on the first open source beer
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Thursday October 09, 2008 at 10:44:51 PDT (GMT -0700)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation
Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
