La siguiente tabla, ilustra suscintamente las diferencias y semejanzas entre los más importantes esquemas de licenciamiento de software.
Software Licensing Taxonomy
Característica de la licencia vs. Tipo de software |
Zero Price Avenue |
Redistributable |
Unlimited Usage |
Source Code Available |
Source Code Modifiable |
Public "Check-ins" to core codebase |
All derivatives must be free |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Open Source (Linux/GNU style)licencia en ingles licencia en español licencia para librerias en ingles |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Open Source (Apache Style)licencia en ingles |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
Open Source (BSD-Style)licencia en ingles licencia modificada en ingles |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
||
Royalty-free libraries |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|||
Royalty-free binaries (Freeware) |
X |
X |
X |
||||
Shareware |
X -(Unenforced licensing) |
X |
|||||
Non-Commercial Use |
X (Usage dependent) |
X |
|||||
Trial Software |
X (Non-full featured) |
X |
|||||
Commercial licencia en ingles |
Licencias |
|---|
GNU licencia en ingles licencia en español |
GNU librerias licencia en ingles |
Apache licencia en ingles |
BSD licencia en ingles |
BSD modificada licencia en ingles |
Artistica licencia en ingles |
Netscape Public License licencia en ingles |
Comercial licencia en ingles |
The broad categories of licensing include:
Commercial software is classic Microsoft bread-and-butter. It must be purchased, may NOT be redistributed, and is typically only available as binaries to end users.
Limited trial software are usually functionally limited versions of commercial software which are freely distributed and intend to drive purchase of the commercial code. Examples include 60-day time bombed evaluation products.
Shareware products are fully functional and freely redistributable but have a license that mandates eventual purchase by both individuals and corporations. Many internet utilities (like ¡±WinZip¡±) take advantage of shareware as a distribution method.
Non-commercial use software is freely available and redistributable by non-profit making entities. Corporations, etc. must purchase the product. An example of this would be Netscape Navigator.
Royalty-free binaries consist of software which may be freely used and distributed in binary form only. Internet Explorer and NetMeeting binaries fit this model.
Royalty-free libraries are software products whose binaries and source code are freely used and distributed but may NOT be modified by the end customer without violating the license. Examples of this include class libraries, header files, etc.
A small, closed team of developers develops BSD-style open source products & allows free use and redistribution of binaries and code. While users are allowed to modify the code, the development team does NOT typically take ¡°check-ins¡± from the public.
Apache takes the BSD-style open source model and extends it by allowing check-ins to the core codebase by external parties.
CopyLeft or GPL (General Public License) based software takes the Open Source license one critical step farther. Whereas BSD and Apache style software permits users to fork the codebase and apply their own license terms to their modified code (e.g. make it commercial), the GPL license requires that all derivative works in turn must also be GPL code. ¡°You are free to hack this code as long as your derivative is also hackable¡±