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GPL
Much software, designed by companies as products for sale, is sold under a licensing scheme which grants to the buyer the right to use the software under certain conditions, and generally prohibits copying, distributing, adapting or editing the software. These licenses typically contain legal penalties for people found altering or redistributing the software. This type of software is called closed source because the source code for the program is proprietary and not available to the public.
By contrast, open source software is software in which the source code is available to the public.
The GPL is one of the licenses which covers open source (or more specifically, free) software. Under the GPL, copying, editing, and redistributing the software is not only legal, but actually encouraged. The GPL is different from many other open source and public licenses in that any modifications made to GPL software must also be released as GPL software as well.
The text of the GPL can be found at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html.
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GPL
General Public License (GPL)
The General Public License is a licensing concept designed to apply to a type of open source software known as free software.Much software, designed by companies as products for sale, is sold under a licensing scheme which grants to the buyer the right to use the software under certain conditions, and generally prohibits copying, distributing, adapting or editing the software. These licenses typically contain legal penalties for people found altering or redistributing the software. This type of software is called closed source because the source code for the program is proprietary and not available to the public.
By contrast, open source software is software in which the source code is available to the public.
The GPL is one of the licenses which covers open source (or more specifically, free) software. Under the GPL, copying, editing, and redistributing the software is not only legal, but actually encouraged. The GPL is different from many other open source and public licenses in that any modifications made to GPL software must also be released as GPL software as well.
The text of the GPL can be found at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html.
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