FOSS

Updated: 10/01/2023 by Computer Hope

Short for free and open-source software, FOSS describes any software that is free to copy and re-use and is also open-source. For example, the VLC (VideoLAN client) media player is a good example of FOSS.

Note

Free refers to the users' freedom to copy and re-use the software and not necessarily free of charge. The FSF (Free Software Foundation) suggests, "think of free as in free speech, not as in free beer."

Computer abbreviations, Freeware, FSF, Open-source, Software terms