Free software is software whose source code is publicly available and can therefore be modified, used and distributed by anyone under specific licences. The fact that the developer community contributes, improves and shares such code serves both to facilitate collaboration and to foster transparency and innovation.
Prominent examples of open-source software include Linux, Mozilla Firefox, LibreOffice, GIMP, Inkscape, Blender, QGIS and many others. In the AECO (Architecture, Engineering and Construction) sector, open-source initiatives have emerged in recent years that deserve special attention, such as BlenderBIM, SPECKLE or IFC.js.
IFC.js is an open-source JavaScript library designed to create BIM (Building Information Modelling) applications on the web and work with files in IFC (or Industry Foundation Classes) format.
If you wish, you can find more examples of free software on the website of a large open-source architecture community: Osarch.
By Pepe Ribera, Senior Architect in the Architecture Department of Amusement Logic
Image: Peggy_Marco (pixabay.com)
