Editing Open-source software (section)

=== Key projects ===
Open source software projects are built and maintained by a network of programmers, who may often be volunteers, and are widely used in free as well as commercial products.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |title=Best practices for commercial use of open source software: business models, processes and tools for managing open source software |date=2020 |publisher=BoD – Books on Demand |isbn=978-3-7386-1909-6 |editor-last=Popp |editor-first=Karl Michael |edition= |series=Synomic Academy |location=Norderstedt}}</ref>

[[Unix]]: Unix is an [[operating system]] created by AT&T that began as a precursor to open source software in that the [[free software movement|free]] and [[Open-source-software movement|open-source software revolution]] began when developers began trying to create operating systems without Unix code.<ref name=":55"/> Unix was created in the 1960s, before the [[commercialization]] of software and before the concept of open source software was necessary, therefore it was not considered a true open source software project.<ref name=":55" /> It started as a research project before being commercialized in the mid 1980s.<ref name=":55" /> Before its commercialization, it represented many of the ideals held by the Free and Open source software revolution, including the decentralized collaboration of global users, [[rolling release]]s and a community culture of distaste towards [[proprietary software]].<ref name=":55" />

[[Berkeley Software Distribution|BSD:]] Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) is an [[operating system]] that began as a variant of [[Unix]] in 1978 that mixed Unix code with code from Berkeley labs to increase functionality.<ref name=":55" /> As BSD was focused on increasing functionality, it would publicly share its greatest innovations with the main Unix operating system.<ref name=":55" /> This is an example of the free public code sharing that is a central characteristic of FOSS today.<ref name=":55" /> As Unix became commercialized in the 1980s, developers or members of the community who did not support [[proprietary software]] began to focus on BSD and turning it into an operating system that did not include any of Unix's code.<ref name=":55" /> The final version of BSD was released in 1995.<ref name=":55" />

[[GNU]]: GNU is a free operating system created by [[Richard Stallman]] in 1984 with its name meaning Gnu's Not Unix.<ref name=":55" /> The idea was to create a [[Unix]] alternative operating system that would be available for anyone to use and allow programmers to share code freely between them.<ref name=":55" /> However, the goal of GNU was not to only replace Unix, but to make a superior version that had more technological capabilities.<ref name=":55" /> It was released before the philosophical beliefs of the Free and Open source software revolution were truly defined.<ref name=":55" /> Because of its creation by prominent FOSS programmer Richard Stallman, GNU was heavily involved in FOSS activism, with one of the greatest achievements of GNU being the creation of the [[GNU General Public License]] or GPL, which allowed developers to release software that could be legally shared and modified.<ref name=":55" />

[[Linux]]: Linux is an [[Kernel (operating system)|operating system kernel]] that was introduced in 1991 by [[Linus Torvalds]].<ref name=":55" /> Linux was inspired by making a better version of the for profit operating service [[Minix|Minux]].<ref name=":55" /> It was radically different than what other hackers were producing at the time due to it being totally free of cost and being decentralized.<ref name=":55" /> Later, Linux was put under the [[GNU General Public License|GPL license]], allowing people to make money with Linux and bringing Linux into the FOSS community.<ref name=":55" />

[[Apache HTTP Server|Apache:]] Apache began in 1995 as a collaboration between a group of developers releasing their own web server due to their frustration with [[NCSA HTTPd]] code base.<ref name=":55" /> The name Apache was used because of the several patches they applied to this code base.<ref name=":55" /> Within a year of its release, it became the worldwide leading [[web server]].<ref name=":55" /> Soon, Apache came out with [[Apache License|its own license]], creating discord in the greater FOSS community, though ultimately proving successful.<ref name=":55" /> The Apache license allowed permitted members to directly access source code, a marked difference from GNU and Linux's approaches.<ref name=":55" />