Читать книгу Introduction to Python Programming for Business and Social Science Applications - Frederick Kaefer - Страница 17

Perhaps the most important reason for the rapid growth in the usage of Python in business and the social sciences is that Python is free open-source software (FOSS). FOSS is an inclusive term that covers both free software and open-source software (Marsan, Pare, & Beaudry, 2012). The definition of free software is that the users have the freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change, and improve the software (Free Software Foundation, 2019). Open-source software requires that the license to use the software shall not restrict any party from selling or giving away the software as a component of a larger software distribution (Open Source Initiative, 2007). As a result, organizations not only are free to use and change Python but also can create and sell commercial applications using Python.

Being FOSS is a true advantage that Python has over other commercially available packages, as it is continually improved. Software development peers iteratively develop, incrementally release, review, and refine FOSS projects in an ongoing agile manner (Scacchi, 2004b, referenced in Goth, 2007). FOSS communities develop software that is extremely valuable, generally reliable, globally distributed, made available for acquisition at little or no cost, and readily used in its associated community (Scacchi, 2004a).