Free software: A review, in the context of disaster management <s> 'Free Software' -what is it? <s> Over the past few years the world of free and open source geospatial software has experienced some major changes. For instance, the website FreeGIS.org currently lists 330 GIS‐related projects. Besides the advent of new software projects and the growth of established projects, a new organisation known as the OSGeo Foundation has been established to offer a point of contact. This paper will give an overview on existing free and open source desktop GIS projects. To further the understanding of the open source software development, we give a brief explanation of associated terms and introduce the two most established software license types: the General Public License (GPL) and the Lesser General Public License (LGPL). After laying out the organisational structures, we describe the different desktop GIS software projects in terms of their main characteristics. Two main tables summarise information on the projects and functionality of the currently available software versions. Finally, the advantages and disad... <s> BIB001 </s> Free software: A review, in the context of disaster management <s> 'Free Software' -what is it? <s> Over the last decade an increasing number of free and open source software projects have been founded that concentrate on developing several types of software for geographic data collection, storage, analysis and visualization. We first identify the drivers of such software projects and identify different types of geographic information software, e.g. desktop GIS, remote sensing software, server GIS etc. We then list the major projects for each software category. Afterwards we discuss the points that should be considered if free and open source software is to be selected for use in business and research, such as software functionality, license types and their restrictions, developer and user community characteristics, etc. Finally possible future developments are addressed. <s> BIB002
The term 'Free and Open Source Software' (FOSS) was introduced in response to restrictions on access to source code for hardware drivers and software, which prohibited unauthorised changes to copyrighted computer code   . Thus the idea of 'free software' has its origin in free speech, rather than free-of-cost. BIB002 state that: "… a distinction between 'free software' and 'commercial software' is neither correct nor expresses the thinking of the creators of free software [.. ] that grants freedoms of use, modification and redistribution to the public; whereas commercial or proprietary software [..] takes these freedoms away…" According to the Free Software Foundation (2014), 'free software' grants four freedoms, to: (i) run the software for any purpose, (ii) study and adapt the software for own needs, (iii) redistribute the software, (iv) improve the software and release improvements to the public. Types of software licenses are reviewed by BIB001 . Open Source software, under the GNU General Public License (GNU, 2014) is desirable, but it may limit the software that can be used. To gain the interest of potential users in low-income countries (LICs), it is important that software is free and easily accessible. With regard to FOSS applications for sustainable development, UNESCO (2014) recognizes that: • "Software plays a crucial role in access to information and knowledge; • Different software models, including proprietary, open-source and free software, have many possibilities to increase competition, access by users, diversity of choice and to enable all users to develop solutions which best meet their requirements; • The development of open, inter-operable, non-discriminatory standards for information handling and access are important elements in the development of effective infrastructure; • The FOSS model provides tools and processes with which people can create, exchange, share and exploit software and knowledge efficiently; • FOSS can play an important role in development… its free and open format make it a natural component of development efforts in the context of the Millennium Development Goals; • Consistent support plays an important role in the success and sustainability of FOSS. To encompass the ideas of UNESCO we define FOSS as 'Freeware and Open Source Software'. We use 'FOSS4geoinfo' as an abbreviation for: 'Freeware and Open Source Software for geoinformatics'. FOSS4geoinfo includes the free-of-charge aspect, as well as software for GIS, GPS data and remotely sensed data.