What is Open Source?
Open source is a development method for software that harnesses the power of distributed peer review and transparency of process. The promise of open source is better quality, higher reliability, more flexibility, lower cost, and an end to predatory vendor lock-in.
Is Free means Open Source?
Most people out there that think "open source" is same as "freeware".
Not really.
Taken literally, open source is a set of principles on how to write software, with the full source code for said software openly available to you, the user.
Freeware (whether ad-supported or not) can be closed source. Just because an app is free doesn’t mean you can hack it. A good example of this is a from-service instant messenger program. Sure, you can freely download and use the Yahoo Messenger, but can you get the source code and hack your own version of it?
No.
If it were open source like you have the Jabber Client, you could. You can use its libraries to add as many client you want or you can modify it wrt your organization policies.
Reasons behind Open Source Development
- Most of the time open source package is released by companies, to check the robustness and efficiency of there software’s.
- Another reason to have open source packages in the market is to offer the package for the free and charge the customers for the services like support, consultancy and training.
- Open source is the best way to make the software update wrt the latest technologies present in the market. As open source is the freely distributed package, many great minds keep on working to add new features into that wrt there needs.
- Lot of times people are not able to design/develop the kind of software they would like to in their full time job and so they develop open source software to fulfill their dreams.
- Another reason is to become popular in lesser time. Open source package is easier to reach different people than the paid software’s.
- For some people, it becomes the showcase of their credentials to get a job.
- Few open source projects have been developed to support the needs of the organizations and later on open sourced.
- Companies encourage their employees to participate in open source projects so that they can influence those projects to suit their needs.
- Few people write the open source as they don’t want to start from the beginning.
Advantages and Drawbacks
Few advantages of using open source:
- Most of the times it is free or has small cost for getting their services
- Often open source packages are more flexible and have many new features available wrt the current technologies.
- Offers more independence for accomplishment of task with respect to our custom requirements.
- Less licensing headache
Some of the drawbacks for going with open source:
- Computability issues with other paid software’s.
- Enthusiastic and varied support was previously listed as one of the benefits of open source software
- Open source is not plug and play. Though many open source projects are more and more concerned with making their software easy to use, the fact is loading and installing the software can be a major hurdle for many users.
- Many times they are not easy to be modified.
- If some problem comes to you and you are not subscribing to their services, you will be in big trouble. And if we opt for their services, we can say it as completely open source.
Useful Open Source Links
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