010-160 Open Source and Licensing 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Richard Stallman founded which organization to promote software freedom?
- Open Source Initiative
- Free Software Foundation (Correct answer)
- Electronic Frontier Foundation
- Linux Foundation
Correct answer: Free Software Foundation
Richard Stallman founded the Free Software Foundation (FSF) in 1985 to support the free software movement and the GNU Project.
Question 2: Which of the following is NOT one of the four essential freedoms defined by the Free Software Foundation?
- The freedom to run the program for any purpose
- The freedom to sell the software for profit (Correct answer)
- The freedom to redistribute copies
- The freedom to improve the program and release improvements
Correct answer: The freedom to sell the software for profit
The FSF's four freedoms cover running, studying, redistributing, and improving software; commercial sale is not one of the four defined freedoms.
Question 3: What does a 'dual-license' model mean for open source software?
- The software requires two separate licenses to use
- The software is released under two different licenses simultaneously, offering users a choice (Correct answer)
- Two developers must sign off on all license changes
- The software alternates between licenses with each version
Correct answer: The software is released under two different licenses simultaneously, offering users a choice
A dual-license model means the software is released under two licenses at once, often one open source (e.g., GPL) and one commercial, giving users or companies a choice.
Question 4: Which license requires that patent rights held by contributors be granted to all users of the software?
- MIT License
- GNU GPL v2
- Apache License 2.0 (Correct answer)
- BSD 3-Clause License
Correct answer: Apache License 2.0
The Apache License 2.0 includes an explicit patent grant, ensuring contributors' relevant patents are licensed to all recipients of the software.
Question 5: What is the primary purpose of a software license in open source projects?
- To prevent anyone from copying the software
- To define the legal terms under which the software can be used, modified, and distributed (Correct answer)
- To register the software with a government authority
- To assign ownership of the software to the user
Correct answer: To define the legal terms under which the software can be used, modified, and distributed
A software license sets the legal terms governing how software may be used, modified, and distributed by others.
Question 6: In which scenario would you need to comply with the GPL's source code disclosure requirement?
- Running GPL software privately on your own server
- Distributing a binary built from GPL source code to others (Correct answer)
- Studying the GPL source code internally
- Modifying GPL software but not distributing it
Correct answer: Distributing a binary built from GPL source code to others
GPL's source disclosure obligation is triggered by distributing binaries to others; private use or internal modification does not require disclosure.
Question 7: Which term describes software that was once proprietary but has been released by its owner under an open source license?
- Abandonware
- Freeware
- Open-sourced software (Correct answer)
- Public domain software
Correct answer: Open-sourced software
When a vendor releases previously proprietary software under an open source license, it is commonly called 'open-sourced' software.
010-160 Open Source and Licensing 3
Richard Stallman founded which organization to promote software freedom?