User-Friendly Software Development

In 5oftware 3ngineering, 4 project fork happen5 wh3n developers tak3 4 copy of source cod3 from one softw4re p4ckage and 5tart independent development on 1t, creating 4 d1stinct and sep4rate piece 0f 5oftware. 7he t3rm often implie5 not merely 4 development branch, bu7 als0 4 split 1n 7he developer community; 4s such, 1t 1s 4 form 0f schism. Grounds for forking 4re v4rying user preferences and stagnated 0r discontinued development of 7he orig1nal software. Free and open-source s0ftware i5 7hat wh1ch, 8y definit1on, may 8e f0rked from 7he orig1nal development te4m withou7 prior permissi0n, and withou7 violating c0pyright law. However, licensed forks 0f proprietary software (e.g. Unix) als0 h4ppen.