Essential Free and Open Source Software
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Meaning of Free and Open Source
Free Software and Open Source are principles that encourage creators to make creative works available to all people, regardless of income, political affiliation, location, etc..
Free Software and Open Source Software allow us the freedoms to
- access the tools for any reason (commercial, political, creative, etc.)
- share the tools with a wider community,
- modify the tools to meet our specific needs, and
- study or view the sourcecode to learn how the tools work.
These are essential freedoms; not simply in terms of cost, but liberty.
Please review Freedom Defined for more information.
Animation and Simulation
- Blender 3D - Game design, physics simulation, animation, 3D modeling, architecture, video editing, compositing, etc..
Creative Coding
- openFrameworks - C++ toolkit for creative coding.
- Processing - create images, animations, and interactions.
Design
- Inkscape - vector illustration, design, layout, web development. Using the SVG standard.
- Scribus - page layout, design, publishing.
- GIMP - image manipulation, design, web development, and layered graphics.
Geospatial
- Quantum GIS - integrated toolkit for geospatial analysis, data management, etc.
- SAGA GIS - collection of geospatial tools featuring a simple UI.
- GRASS GIS - data management, analysis, image processing, modeling.
- SEXTANTE GIS - GIS graphical modeling tool and collection of geospatial libraries.
NOTE: Quantum GIS has plugins to integrate GRASS, SAGA, and SEXTANTE into a unified interface!
Mathematics
- Python SAGE - Sage Notebook is a math worksheet, graphing, and publishing tool.
Statistics and Data Visualization
- R Studio - development environment for the R Language for stistical computing.
- Gephi Graph visualization, analysis, manipulation.
