Appendix A: Glossary

A. Open Source Primer Glossary

Applications – software on your computer that does basic user tasks, like word processing, accounting, etc.

CD Image – This is a large file you can download (only if you have a fast Internet Connection and lots of space on your hard drive), that usually contains the entire contents of a software installation CD. With this file – that usually has a “.iso” file extension -- you can use any CD burning software program to create copies of the CD.

Firewall – a hardware or software device that controls what traffic comes in and out of a network or computer. It can protect networks and computers from intrusion and worms.

Fork – When a developer takes an open source project developed by someone else in an entirely different direction. This is done for a variety of reasons – disagreements with the philosophy of the original developer, slowness in development of the original, different purpose for the new software (an example of this is FilmGimp, a fork of the Gimp image processing program developed specifically to work with film).

Free Software – Free software, in this context, does not just mean software that has no license or acquisition fees. It pertains to software that is written under an open source license, and can be freely copied, modified and re-distributed (and you are free to sell it.) See http://www.fsf.org/philosophy/free-sw.html for a full definition.

GUI – Graphic User Interface – a method of interacting with a computer program that allows point and click with a mouse as opposed to typing commands on a command line. For example, Windows and Macintoshes use a GUI, DOS does not.

HTML – Hypertext Markup Language, the language used to create web pages.

IP Addresses – any computer that connects to a network has to have an IP (for Internet Protocol) Address, so that other computers know how to get at them (to send web pages that were requested, for instance). An IP address is in the form of 4 numbers separated by periods. These numbers range from 0.0.0.0 to 255.255.255.255 giving around 4 billion IP addresses.

IRC – Internet Relay Chat – IRC is a way to chat with others that are on the internet in real time. There are many IRC clients for all platforms. IRC has been around for a very long time, and has many purposes, but there are several IRC servers that are dedicated to providing support channels for open source software (Freenode.net is the major one).

Kernel – the software that controls the most important tasks on your computer. It is responsible for process management (what applications are running and how), disk management and memory management.

Linux – A UNIX variant, is the most commonly known open source operating system. It was developed in the early 90s, and has become quite mainstream, especially used as servers.(More information on Linux is in the appendix)

ODBC – Open DataBase Connectivity – it is a standard that allows databases to talk to one another easily, either within one system, or across a network or the internet.

Operating System – The entire collection of kernel, libraries and utilities that provide the interface between the hardware and the user (and other applications).

Proprietary – software that is “closed source.” Users cannot see the source code, copy the software, or use it in any way other than specified by the strict licensing provided by the vendor. All major software products by large commercial entities (like Microsoft, Intuit, etc.) fit this definition.

Source Code – The instructions, written in a form readable and understandable by programmers that direct how an application should run. When changes or bug fixes are made to an application, these changes must be made in the source code. After the source code is complete, most applications are compiled into a “binary” form. A computer can read the binary form of an application more quickly and easily. However it is impossible to understand or modify an application in binary form if you do not have access to the original source code that created it.

Static Public IP Addresses – An IP address that is permanently assigned to one server. Generally that server is listed in the Domain Name Service (DNS) as connected to that IP address.

Version Numbering – All software that is released to the public (and most that is not) is assigned a version number, which helps to keep track of the status of that software, and allows users to know whether it is the most up to date.

There is an Appendix and additional material on the NOSI website, which includes detailed information on specific open source projects, a database of OSS for nonprofits, additional case studies, and an ever-changing FAQ. Find these at http://www.nosi.net/primer