Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) is software that is developed by a community of people, released under a non-commercial license, and whose source code (the program files that make up the software) is freely available. For more information on the non-commercial license used by Drupal, see Section 1.7, “Concept: Drupal Licensing”.
The Drupal project is a FOSS project whose purpose is to develop the core content management system software, as well as add-on modules, additional themes, translations, documentation, and special-purpose distributions. The people who contribute their time and money to the Drupal project come from all over the world, and are a diverse community that comes together for this common purpose.
The community encompasses many smaller groups who perform many different tasks such as developing a particular piece of Drupal-related software, writing documentation, maintaining the security of Drupal software, translating Drupal software into a particular language, using Drupal for some specific purpose, and coming together to meet in person within a particular geographical area.
For more on how you can connect to and communicate with the world-wide community, see Section 14.1, “Connecting with the Community” and Section 14.2, “Getting Support”.
The Drupal Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the Drupal project and community. Its main functions are:
- Putting on large conventions around the world
- Maintaining the Drupal.org websites and the servers that they run on
- Promoting Drupal as a web platform
- Supporting Drupal education and training
- Providing grants to the Drupal community in support of its mission
- Raising funds for these purposes
Attributions
Written by Jennifer Hodgdon.
