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Encyclopedia > Gratis versus Libre

Gratis versus Libre is the distinction between zero price and freedom. Gratis has been adopted as a (relatively uncommon) English word. However, libre has not, and there is no English adjective signifying only freedom. This distinction is of utmost importance in dealing with information as property. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Information is the result of processing, manipulating and organizing data in a way that adds to the knowledge of the person receiving it. ... // Use of the term In common usage, property means ones own thing and refers to the relationship between individuals and the objects which they see as being their own to dispense with as they see fit. ...

Contents

Gratis

Look up gratis in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Gratis is an adjective in Latin and various Romance and Germanic languages meaning "free," in the sense that one does not have to pay for some good or service (free of charge). Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ... An adjective is a part of speech which modifies a noun, usually describing it or making its meaning more specific. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... The Romance languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family, comprise all languages that descended from Latin, the language of the Roman Empire. ...


Libre

Look up libre in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Libre is a word in various Romance languages, e.g. Spanish and French (descended from the Latin word līber) that denotes the state of being free, as in "having freedom". GNU programmers often talk about free as in free speech (libre) and free as in free beer (gratis), as the word free in English does not distinguish between these meanings. Free software (with a capital F) usually means the former. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ... The Romance languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family, comprise all languages that descended from Latin, the language of the Roman Empire. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... Mohandas K. Gandhi - Freedom can be achieved through inner sovereignty. ... GNU (pronounced ) is a free operating system consisting of a kernel, libraries, system utilities, compilers, and end-user applications. ... A programmer or software developer is someone who programs computers, that is, one who writes computer software. ... Freedom of speech is the right to freely say what one pleases, as well as the related right to hear what others have stated. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... This article is about free software as defined by the sociopolitical free software movement; for information on software distributed without charge, see freeware. ...


Free as in beer versus free as in speech

In hacker slang, gratis is typically referred to as free as in beer while libre is referred to as free as in speech.[1][2] The Jargon File is a glossary of hacker slang. ...


Free as in beer refers to things which are available at no monetary cost (like free beer at a party). While one is permitted to use the object (e.g., drink the beer) without payment, one does not necessarily receive any rights (e.g. take the beer home) or ownership. It can be contrasted with the expressions free as in speech, free as in freedom, or free as in rights, which refer to something which is free of restrictions, as in the freedom of speech. One is permitted to use the object, reproduce it, repurpose it, and generally do what one will with it; usually the only restrictions applied are that credit be given to any entity that contributed to any resulting object and that such object be free as in speech as well. An example of a license with such grants and conditions is the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike license. Mohandas K. Gandhi - Freedom can be achieved through inner sovereignty. ... Freedom of speech is enshrined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is granted formal recognition by the laws of most nations. ... Version 2 of Some Rights Reserved logo No Rights reserved logo The Creative Commons (CC) is a non-profit organization devoted to expanding the range of creative work available for others legally to build upon and share. ...


Since the advent of the free software movement, these terms have entered frequent use for categorising computer programs according to the licenses and legal fetters that cover them, and both this expression and the term gratis are used to distinguish freeware (gratis software) from free software. See: Alternative terms for free software. The free software movement began in 1983 when Richard Stallman announced the GNU project. ... A computer program is a collection of instructions that describe a task, or set of tasks, to be carried out by a computer. ... It has been suggested that Licensing (strategic alliance) be merged into this article or section. ... In law, intellectual property (IP) is an umbrella term for various legal entitlements which attach to certain types of information, ideas, or other intangibles in their expressed form. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Computer software (or simply software) refers to one or more computer programs and data held in the storage of a computer for some purpose. ... This article is about free software as defined by the sociopolitical free software movement; for information on software distributed without charge, see freeware. ... // Free software is the term introduced by Richard Stallman in 1983 for software which the user can use for any purpose, study the source code of, adapt to their needs, and redistribute - modified or unmodified. ...


See also

TANSTAAFL is an acronym for the adage There Aint No Such Thing As A Free Lunch, popularized by science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein and promulgated in his 1966 novel The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, which deals with a libertarian utopia. ... Libre software is another name for free software. ...

External links and references

  • Stallman's discussion of FreeAsInBeer
  • 'Wired' on the first open source beer
  • Lawrence Lessig Free, as in Beer

  Results from FactBites:
 
Gratis versus Libre - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (369 words)
Gratis versus Libre is the distinction between no cost and freedom, a distinction not made by the word free in the English language.
Gratis is borrowed from Latin, and libre is borrowed from Spanish or French.
Gratis is an adjective in Latin and various Romance and Germanic languages meaning "free," in the sense that one does not have to pay for some good or service (free of charge).
  More results at FactBites »


 
 

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