問78
頻出度★☆☆
OSS (Open Source Software) に関する記述として, 適切なものはどれか。
令和3年度 ITパスポート試験 問78
テクノロジ系ソフトウェア › オープンソースソフトウェア
This question's explanation and your answers so far.
解説
問 78
Incorrectア
Merely making the source code public does not necessarily make software OSS. OSS must use a license that satisfies the “Open Source Definition (OSD)” — one that guarantees freedoms such as redistribution, modification, and reuse. Software that can only be viewed but is forbidden to be modified or redistributed is not OSS, so “all of it is OSS” is incorrect.
Incorrectイ
OSS does not abandon copyright. The author keeps the copyright and merely grants permission by setting the conditions for use, modification, and redistribution through an OSS license. Abandoning copyright (placing it in the public domain) and granting permission via a license are different things, so this statement is incorrect.
Incorrectウ
OSS is not necessarily developed by individuals free of charge. Much OSS is developed and released by companies or organizations as part of their business, and development funding may be provided on a paid basis. Restricting it to “all such software is developed by individuals free of charge” is incorrect.
- エ
正解 エ is correct. OSS itself can often be obtained and used for free, but that does not mean “support is always free too.” Among the products and distributions built on OSS, some provide paid support services for deployment, maintenance, and troubleshooting (a well-known example is Red Hat Enterprise Linux). Because the software itself being free and the existence of paid support products can coexist, エ is an appropriate statement.
ここがポイント
- The requirement for OSS is not just publishing the source code, but an OSD-compliant license that guarantees the freedom to redistribute, modify, and reuse; copyright is also not abandoned but retained by the author.
- Even if the OSS itself is free, business models such as paid support and commercial distributions still work, and the developers are not limited to individuals.
用語