5 MUST-KNOW FOSS PLATFORMS
Free and open-source software (FOSS) has been in the league since the 1990s. The idea of foreseeing a developmental environment which can be used to inspect and manipulate the underlying code of a software can indeed be considered a great breakthrough in the field of technology. This led to the betterment as well as increased usability of the software. The term “FOSS” glues together free as well as open-source software.
Free software can be defined based on the freedoms that it provides to the netizens. They are:
- F1 — Freedom to run the program on any device according to the user’s wish.
- F2 — Freedom to dig deeper into software by viewing or inspecting codes.
- F3 — Freedom to manipulate the code to improve performance.
- F4 — Freedom to share the code with others.
Open software has an open source code so that anyone can contribute to it by modifying it, spotting bugs, and improving its functionality without paying the original creator.
Top 5 utility oriented FOSS are:
- BRAVE BROWSER:
Brave browser is a secure, decentralized open-source browsing software application that automatically disables trackers so that the users are provided with maximum anonymity and privacy. It has been developed based on Google’s open-source project, “Chromium”. It has compatibility with most of the Chrome browser extensions, so it is easy to use. It thus poses a great challenge to its mainstream competitor, Google Chrome, which keeps a constant track over its users. Chrome browser, being a centralized system, is less secure.
Another important attraction of Brave is BAT or Brave Attention Token crypto, through which the users can opt to view ads and earn a token of appreciation for investing their time and energy to watch the ad. Since no data or time is wasted for loading unwanted ads and pop-ups, it can provide a better, fast, and data-efficient browsing experience. Ads in Chrome contribute to enhanced data consumption which in turn makes it slower than Brave.
2. LIBREOFFICE:
LibreOffice is an open-source software parallel to the existing Microsoft Office package. It acts as an umbrella that comprises different tools for preparing documents, spreadsheets, databases, presentations, diagrams, and mathematical formulae. The developer community plays a vital role by ensuring the addition of new tools, removal of bugs and enhancement of the user-interface. For example, QR code generator is an add-on to LibreOffice making it handy to create mobile-friendly links.
LibreOffice is currently the most widely used document preparation and publishing tool just like LATEX which also falls under the same category of creating and publishing documents. It provides cross-platform compatibility to users as well as compatibility for file formats like Microsoft Office, HTML, XML, WordPerfect, Lotus 1–2–3, and PDF.
3. MOODLE CLOUD:
Moodle is one of the most leading free and open-source software learning platforms available today. It has paved a smooth path for the transition from offline classrooms to virtual classrooms when the world was struck by the pandemic. It can afford a user cap of 1000 which is more than sufficient for a common class and further comprises features to track the performance of students. It uses e-learning standards like SCORM and Tin Can/xAPI that enables users to share files and videos.
Plugins are a flexible tool set, allowing Moodle users to extend the features of the site. Moodle has hundreds of available plugins which extend the features of Moodle’s core functionality. Easily accessible and modifiable open source code ensures correction of any flaws in the software, thereby making it more efficient.
4. PHP:
PHP is a very successful open-source software that helps its users to create websites and various other digital platforms. It is known for its fast and flexible nature. The backend of Slack and Spotify websites were programmed using PHP. Being a server-side scripting language, it interprets the scripts on the server side rather than on the client side thus ensuring a better interface for the users and also enhancing the functionality. The developer community is well supportive by offering regular bug fixes and updates. The learning curve for PHP is very short and anyone with basics in C programming will find it easy to use. The cross-platform compatibility and flexibility allows it to support multiple programming languages. Moreover, PHP uses the technique of built-in database connection modules that help in connecting databases, thus making the software hassle-free and fast for the development of web applications.
5. GNU COMPILER COLLECTION:
GNU compiler collection is one of the most widely accepted open-source compilers. The GCC community is strong and comprises hackers and software enthusiasts who contribute to its quality and functionality. During the time of its release, it was an open-source software similar to the UNIX environment, but over time it has grown a lot and incubated many ideas like Make, Sed, Emacs, Glibc, GDB, and GCC. GCC has a wide range of supported languages and they include Fortran, Obj C and Ada.
The GCC community is divided into two sections, reviewers and contributors. Reviewers are those programmers without enough technical expertise and thus do not have the ability to approve their own patches. Contributors can make modifications to the source code and apply for approval from the rest of the community, after acknowledging the copyright agreement. These attributes make GCC efficient and feature-packed, with each update including something new and versatile to enhance the user experience.
In conclusion, FOSS is truly game-changing as it brings all software developers around the globe under one umbrella. Their collective and collaborative effort has definitely yielded a lot of results. By using the idea of FOSS, detecting errors and fixing them, as well as adding new tools, has become a cakewalk. FOSS is not just about building software and making it free from bugs but it is actually a passion that brings everyone with programming skills together as part of one single community.
