Open-source software produced all across French research

Development of research software not confined to IT and computing, study finds

Nearly two-thirds of software programs developed by researchers in French institutions are available under a free licence, which will usually grant users rights to modify and redistribute it, a government survey has found.

The survey report, published by the research ministry on 29 November, also showed that researchers in diverse disciplines were developing research software. While 31 per cent of the 1,331 programs assessed in the report came from IT departments, and a further 29 per cent from physics, maths and digital science departments, many other disciplines made a significant contribution.