GNU and other free software

If you're looking for a whole system to install, see our list of GNU/Linux distributions which are entirely free software.

To look for individual free software packages, both GNU and non-GNU, please see the Free Software Directory: a categorized, searchable database of free software. The Directory is actively maintained by the Free Software Foundation and includes links to program home pages where available. It also includes a list of all GNU packages along with their documentation and other information.

We also maintain a list of high-priority free software projects. Please help with these projects if you can. For other ways to contribute to GNU, see the GNU help wanted page.

If you are developing a GNU package, or you are thinking of starting, you may be interested in GNU Software Developer Resources. If you'd like to make your software an official GNU package, please see the evaluation information and submission form.

For information on the licenses used for GNU software, and on other free software licenses, please see our Licenses page.

Finally, here is a short list of free software for Microsoft Windows, for the Windows user who is curious about free software but isn't able to use a free operating system yet.

How To Get GNU Software

GNU software is available by several different methods:

• Buy distributions from the FSF. This helps provide the funds for the GNU Project.
• Download it from the web or via ftp: we provide source code for all GNU software, free of charge. (Please also make a donation to the FSF, if you can, to help us write more free software.)
• Get a copy from a friend.
  (Please also make a donation to the FSF, if you can, to help us promote free software.)
• Buy a computer with a wholly free GNU/Linux system preinstalled from one of the companies that can offer this.
• Get the development sources for a package and build them. That way you can try all the latest features. Many GNU packages keep their development sources at the GNU hosting site savannah.gnu.org. Some packages use other source repositories; the package's web pages should say where the repository is.

Decommissioned GNU packages

GNU packages are occasionally decommissioned, generally because they've been superseded by, or integrated into, other packages. Here is the list, for the sake of people searching; we leave the old project pages up (when they existed) too: 3dkit, abcsh, awacs, cfs-el, checker, dgs (display ghostscript), dld, dr.genius, elib, fhp, free (gnu.free), gfe, ggv (see gv), gicqd, giptables, gnotepad+, gnubios, gnucad, gnupedia (see wikipedia), gnuts, goose, gphoto, grover, gtkeditor, hegemonie, lengualibre, leonardo, mana, obst, sweater, webpublish, xinfo.

this article was taken from: http://www.gnu.org/software/software.html