Read more about Open Source and the FOSS movement at the websites of the Open Source Initiative and the Free Software Foundation. Not only that, but because the source code is always made available, you, as a scientist, can confirm that the software is actually doing what it purports to do, which is something you cannot do with any closed source software, free or paid-for.

This means that you can contribute to fixing bugs, asking for features to be added, beta testing, styling, or coding, and so you can help make the software look and work the way you want it too. Because FOSS projects are really community projects, it means that you can get involved if you want to. They are usually very passionate about their projects and they use the software themselves (often in their “day job”). FOSS software is usually (but not always) developed by a community of programmers who do it because they love it and want to contribute to the greater good.

What is “FOSS,” and what does it stand for? “FOSS” stands for “Free and Open Source Software.” It is important to note that this different from “Software You Don’t Pay For” in an important way: FOSS software is not only “free” in a monetary sense, but it is also “free” in the sense that you or anyone are “free” to use it in any way that you want, with only a very few restrictions (typically only that you credit where you got it from).

Software Development and Scientific Computing.

Isaac’s List of FOSS tools for academics…

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