I keep hearing the term ‘open source’ – what does it mean?
Open source is software for which the complete source code has been made freely available. This source code may also be redistributed and modified by its users. The terms of use are often defined by the General Public Licence, which serves as the Software Licence Agreement (SLA) for many open source programs.
In contrast, proprietary software or closed source software is software that you pay a one-time or annual license for. Some examples are Windows OS, MS Office, and Adobe Photoshop.
Image Credit: 121212 2 OpenSwissKnife https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3A121212_2_OpenSwissKnife.png
But, why?
- Open collaboration – Programmers who have access to a computer program source code can improve a program by adding features to it or fixing parts that don’t always work correctly. Generally programmers can’t charge money for the open source software they create or to which they contribute.
- Service-based chargeback model – Many open source software programmers find that charging users money for software services and support rather than for the software itself is more profitable. This way, their software remains free of charge and they make money by helping others to install, use and troubleshoot it.
- Control over source code and ability to modify for own purposes – Many people prefer open source software because they are interested in more control over these kinds of software. They can examine the code to make sure it’s not doing anything they don’t want it to do, and they can only change parts of it they don’t like to do.
- Freely available with a large audience reach – Generic users who aren’t programmers also took benefit from open source software, because they can use this kind of software for any purpose without any prior notice to the proprietor as they wish—not merely the way someone else thinks they should.
Examples of Open Source software
Below is a partial list of the best-known open source software. While there are many more, this list is only
Operating Systems
Possibly one of the most famous open source systems is the Linus operating system. Beloved by a large section of the IT community, Linux has contributed to the growth and development of the information age.
Programming languages:
- C and C++
- PHP
- Python
- Perl
- Ruby
Databases:
- MySQL
Systems
- Apache Web server
Digital Content:
- Wikipedia
- Gutenberg Project
As a high school senior and co-founder of STEAMism and TimeforAI.com, Ani enjoys challenges and problem solving, technical subjects including Artificial Intelligence and Engineering Design, and collaborating with like-minded peers on events and hackathons. He has interned with the City of Austin, was a NASA High School Aerospace Scholar in 2019-2020 and is a Math tutor at Mathnasium. He has been blogging since 2nd grade and dabbles in web design and coding. He enjoys STEM subjects and teaching, so STEAMism is a great way for him to combine both.
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