{"id":5023,"date":"2023-08-31T08:08:45","date_gmt":"2023-08-31T06:08:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neogeo.fr\/what-is-open-source\/"},"modified":"2026-10-23T16:28:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T14:28:11","slug":"what-is-open-source","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neogeo.fr\/en\/what-is-open-source\/","title":{"rendered":"What is open source?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since 2008, NEOGEO has been developing and implementing geographic data infrastructures and open source platforms. Our teams design custom solutions using free components and are involved in several open source project communities. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But what is open source? Definition, history, values, licenses: here are the essentials in five points. <\/p>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The definition<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An open source solution is software that anyone can use, modify, and share.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Programmers work together to improve it, making the software more flexible and sustainable than proprietary software.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The history<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the 1950s and 1960s, researchers relied on an open and collaborative environment to develop the first Internet technologies and telecommunications network protocols.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is when the idea of open source was born. This approach led to the creation of some of the most popular and powerful software solutions of our time. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During this era, user groups shared their source code to bring new projects to life.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The values<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Open source software is based on a philosophy of sharing and collaboration within the community.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These communities are formed around a common interest in a particular software and work together to improve that software.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The licenses<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Open source software does not necessarily mean it is free of charge or can be used without constraints: it all depends on the terms of the license used by the developer.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Indeed, open source licenses have rules to follow. For example, the copyleft clause requires the distribution of modifications under the same license as the original software. <\/p>\n\n<div style=\"height:15px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A few open source examples<\/h2>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Linux<\/strong>, an open source operating system<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>QGIS<\/strong>, an open source geographic information system<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>OpenOffice<\/strong>, an open source office suite<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Open source at Neogeo<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since its inception, NEOGEO has advocated for open source solutions. By utilizing the concept of free software, NEOGEO offers more powerful, cost-effective, and high-quality solutions. The company is involved in several open source communities and actively participates in improving the quality of open source software for the benefit of all.  <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Do you have a project or a question about our open source solutions? <\/p>\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-couleur-6-color has-couleur-1-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\">Contact us<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Since 2008, NEOGEO has been developing and implementing geographic data infrastructures and open source platforms. Our teams design custom solutions using free components and are involved in several open source project communities. But what is open source? Definition, history, values, licenses: here are the essentials in five points. The definition An open source solution is &#8230; <a title=\"What is open source?\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/neogeo.fr\/en\/what-is-open-source\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about What is open source?\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":5028,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized-en"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What is open source and its licenses? | NEOGEO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Definition, history, values, and licenses: open source explained by NEOGEO, expert in geodigital and open source solutions.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/neogeo.fr\/en\/what-is-open-source\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is open source and its licenses? 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