The open source movement promotes publishing software together with its source code so that anyone can inspect, modify and share it. The term was adopted on 2 February 1998 at a meeting in Palo Alto, California, shortly after Netscape announced that it would release the source code of its browser. Participants including Christine Peterson, Eric Raymond and Bruce Perens wanted a name that appealed to businesses more than the earlier phrase free software, promoted by Richard Stallman. The Open Source Initiative was founded soon after, with a definition of the criteria that licenses must meet. The approach has since underpinned projects such as Linux, Apache and Firefox, and many companies now contribute to open source.
Before and after
- 1998Supernovae show that cosmic expansion is accelerating
- 19981998 becomes the warmest year on record
- 12 January 1998Creation of FreeDOS
- 28 January 1998Construction of Stade de France
- 2 February 1998Rise of open source
- from 27 February 1998 to 11 June 1999Kosovo War
- 29 March 1998Construction of Vasco da Gama Bridge
- 5 April 1998Construction of Akashi Kaikyō Bridge
- 10 April 1998Good Friday Agreement
More in Society, economy & sport
- 24 October 1945Founding of United Nations
- 16 November 1945Founding of UNESCO
- 4 April 1949Founding of NATO
- 1960Founding of Somalia
- 1 November 1993Founding of European Union
- 2015Rise of Wikipedia Asian Month
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.