propeller key
= P =
protocol
proprietary adj.
1. In marketroid-speak, superior;
implies a product imbued with exclusive magic by the unmatched
brilliance of the company's own hardware or software designers.
2. In the language of hackers and users, inferior; implies a
product not conforming to open-systems standards, and thus one that
puts the customer at the mercy of a vendor able to gouge freely on
service and upgrade charges after the initial sale has locked the
customer in. Often used in the phrase "proprietary crap".
3. Synonym for closed-source, e.g. software issued in binary
without source and under a restrictive license.
Since the coining of the term open source, many hackers
have made a conscious effort to distinguish between
`proprietary' and `commercial' software. It is possible
for software to be commercial (that is, intended to make a profit
for the producers) without being proprietary. The reverse is
also possible, for example in binary-only freeware.
--The Jargon File version 4.3.1, ed. ESR, autonoded by rescdsk.