Free as in Freedom: Richard Stallman's Crusade for Free Software
Encyclopedia
Free as in Freedom: Richard Stallman's Crusade for Free Software (ISBN 0-596-00287-4) is a free
book licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License
about the life
of Richard Stallman
, written by Sam Williams and published by O'Reilly Media
on March 1, 2002.
Williams conducted several interviews with Stallman during the writing of the book, as well as with classmates and colleagues of Stallman, and his mother. The book received good reviews.
(GFDL).
, which allows modification and redistribution of the text, photographs contained therein, as well as the cover: its texts, photograph and elements of design.
supports the free software movement
by saying that it enables people to stand on the shoulders of giants
. He also says that standing on the shoulders of giants is the opposite of reinventing the wheel
.
An excerpt from the book:
Another excerpt from the book:
complimented the amount of new information Williams reveals about Stallman, given the amount of material already published. He describes the book as a "nuanced, detailed picture of Stallman". In Computer User
, Jende Huang referred to the book as "straightforward" and wrote, "the juxtaposition of Stallman's public and private personae is the key to the book's appeal." He summarized that the book is "a worthwhile read for its chronicle of an important part of the free software movement, as well as its insight into Stallman as a person." In Italian VITA, Bernardo Parrella described its "greatest merit" to be its "new perspective" on the issues at stake for Free Software and the computer industry as a whole, and its interweaving of Stallman's personal life and complex technical developments to be "gripping". He noted that the book is an important "real time" biography, full of references to other books, publications and web links, about a man who is misunderstood, and underestimated. In a review for Sys-Con, Mike McCallister describes the book as an "easy introduction to Stallman's career and ideas, but at this length cannot go into great depth." He mentions one section as "very funny", but "all too-brief" coverage of another topic, or none at all (GNOME
).
Free content
Free content, or free information, is any kind of functional work, artwork, or other creative content that meets the definition of a free cultural work...
book licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License
GNU Free Documentation License
The GNU Free Documentation License is a copyleft license for free documentation, designed by the Free Software Foundation for the GNU Project. It is similar to the GNU General Public License, giving readers the rights to copy, redistribute, and modify a work and requires all copies and...
about the life
Personal life
Personal life is the course of an individual's life, especially when viewed as the sum of personal choices contributing to one's personal identity. It is a common notion in modern existence—although more so in more prosperous parts of the world such as Western Europe and North America...
of Richard Stallman
Richard Stallman
Richard Matthew Stallman , often shortened to rms,"'Richard Stallman' is just my mundane name; you can call me 'rms'"|last= Stallman|first= Richard|date= N.D.|work=Richard Stallman's homepage...
, written by Sam Williams and published by O'Reilly Media
O'Reilly Media
O'Reilly Media is an American media company established by Tim O'Reilly that publishes books and Web sites and produces conferences on computer technology topics...
on March 1, 2002.
Williams conducted several interviews with Stallman during the writing of the book, as well as with classmates and colleagues of Stallman, and his mother. The book received good reviews.
Structure
The book is divided into fourteen chapters and three appendices which include one for the GNU Free Documentation LicenseGNU Free Documentation License
The GNU Free Documentation License is a copyleft license for free documentation, designed by the Free Software Foundation for the GNU Project. It is similar to the GNU General Public License, giving readers the rights to copy, redistribute, and modify a work and requires all copies and...
(GFDL).
License
Free as in Freedom was published under the GNU Free Documentation LicenseGNU Free Documentation License
The GNU Free Documentation License is a copyleft license for free documentation, designed by the Free Software Foundation for the GNU Project. It is similar to the GNU General Public License, giving readers the rights to copy, redistribute, and modify a work and requires all copies and...
, which allows modification and redistribution of the text, photographs contained therein, as well as the cover: its texts, photograph and elements of design.
Writing
Williams has written an article about the process of writing FaiF, recording the license negotiations that led to this book being published under a free license. OnLamp also interviewed Williams in 2002 about the writing process.Standing on the shoulders of giants
In the book, Bob Young of Red HatRed Hat
Red Hat, Inc. is an S&P 500 company in the free and open source software sector, and a major Linux distribution vendor. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina with satellite offices worldwide....
supports the free software movement
Free software movement
The free software movement is a social and political movement with the goal of ensuring software users' four basic freedoms: the freedom to run their software, to study and change their software, and to redistribute copies with or without changes. The alternative terms "software libre", "open...
by saying that it enables people to stand on the shoulders of giants
Standing on the shoulders of giants
Dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants is a Western metaphor meaning "One who develops future intellectual pursuits by understanding the research and works created by notable thinkers of the past," a contemporary interpretation. However, the metaphor was first recorded in the twelfth century...
. He also says that standing on the shoulders of giants is the opposite of reinventing the wheel
Reinventing the wheel
To reinvent the wheel is to duplicate a basic method that has already previously been created or optimized by others.The inspiration for this idiomatic metaphor lies in the fact that the wheel is the archetype of human ingenuity, both by virtue of the added power and flexibility it affords its...
.
An excerpt from the book:
"In the western scientific tradition we stand on the shoulders of giants," says Young, echoing both Torvalds and Sir Isaac Newton before him. "In business, this translates to not having to reinvent wheels as we go along. The beauty of [the GPL] model is you put your code into the public domain. If you're an independent software vendor and you're trying to build some application and you need a modem-dialer, well, why reinvent modem dialers? You can just steal PPP off of Red Hat Linux and use that as the core of your modem-dialing tool. If you need a graphic tool set, you don't have to write your own graphic library. Just download GTK. Suddenly you have the ability to reuse the best of what went before. And suddenly your focus as an application vendor is less on software management and more on writing the applications specific to your customer's needs."
Another excerpt from the book:
Integrating GCC improved the performance of Linux. It also raised issues. Although the GPL's "viral" powers didn't apply to the Linux kernel, Torvald's willingness to borrow GCC for the purposes of his own free software operating system indicated a certain obligation to let other users borrow back. As Torvalds would later put it: "I had hoisted myself up on the shoulders of giants." Not surprisingly, he began to think about what would happen when other people looked to him for similar support.
Reception
Andrew Leonard in SalonSalon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
complimented the amount of new information Williams reveals about Stallman, given the amount of material already published. He describes the book as a "nuanced, detailed picture of Stallman". In Computer User
Computer User
Computer User is a computer magazine originally founded in 1982, and which, after several owners and fundamental changes, is still in business today online as computeruser.com...
, Jende Huang referred to the book as "straightforward" and wrote, "the juxtaposition of Stallman's public and private personae is the key to the book's appeal." He summarized that the book is "a worthwhile read for its chronicle of an important part of the free software movement, as well as its insight into Stallman as a person." In Italian VITA, Bernardo Parrella described its "greatest merit" to be its "new perspective" on the issues at stake for Free Software and the computer industry as a whole, and its interweaving of Stallman's personal life and complex technical developments to be "gripping". He noted that the book is an important "real time" biography, full of references to other books, publications and web links, about a man who is misunderstood, and underestimated. In a review for Sys-Con, Mike McCallister describes the book as an "easy introduction to Stallman's career and ideas, but at this length cannot go into great depth." He mentions one section as "very funny", but "all too-brief" coverage of another topic, or none at all (GNOME
GNOME
GNOME is a desktop environment and graphical user interface that runs on top of a computer operating system. It is composed entirely of free and open source software...
).
External links
- Free as in Freedom listing at O'Reilly Media
- A full free HTML edition of Free as in Freedom at O'Reilly Media
- A full free PDF edition of Free as in Freedom
- A full free searchable edition of Free as in Freedom in multiple open standard formats produced using GPL3 software SiSUSiSUSiSU , is a Unix command line-oriented framework for document structuring, publishing and search.-Usage:...