What is open source software?
Open source software (OSS) refers to software that is distributed with its source code made available to the public. This allows anyone to view, modify, and distribute the software.
Sharing of software has gone on since the beginnings of the computer age. In fact, not sharing software was the exception, and not the rule. The concepts of open source software (OSS) long predate the use of the term.
This software are open for all. For instance it is Free. In English the word FREE has two meanings:
- Free as in free speech, freedom to distribute
- Free as in no cost, or as is often said, like "Free beer"
Use of OSS means source code is made available with a license which provides rights to examine, modify and redistribute, without restriction on the user's identity or purpose.
Why use open source software?
The purpose of OSS is Collaborative Development. enables software projects to build better software. When progress is shared, not everyone has to solve the same problems and make the same mistakes. Thus, progress can be made much faster and costs can be reduced.
Having more eyeballs viewing code and more groups testing it leads to stronger and more secure code, as well. It is often hard for competitors to get used to the idea of sharing, and grasping that the benefits can be greater than the costs. But experience has proved this to be true over and over again.
Competitors can compete on user-facing interfaces (e.g. internal plumbing that everyone needs) so that end users still see plenty of product differentiation and have varying experiences.
Successful OSS Projects:
Linux Kernel: It is the basis of almost all of the world’s computing infrastructure, from the most powerful supercomputers to the largest number of mobile devices, based on Android, built on a Linux kernel.
Git: Git is a distributed version control system that is used worldwide for an astounding number of collaborative products. It is also the basis of GitHub, which hosts more than one hundred million of open source projects repositories; GitLab, another easily available host, handles quite a few projects as well.
Apache: Work on the Apache HTTP Server began in 1995. Today it is the most widely used web server with roughly one third of the market share (another open source project, nginx, has almost as many users).
Programming Languages: Many computing languages are developed using open source methods. Examples of these languages include: Python, Perl, Ruby, Rust etc
GNU: The GNU Project has provided many essential ingredients for virtually all modern computer technologies, under various versions of the GPL (General Public License). Some of the most prominent products emanating from the GNU are GCC, GBD, GLIBC, BASH, COREUTILS.
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