What is open source?
At least once in your lifetime, you may have used a software, an application or an OS that is either directly open source or something that is derived from it. You may or may not know it.
At Thinkestry, we use it almost everywhere possible in our day to day life. We love open source.
What is open source?
When the source code of a project is made available to everyone in order to modify and redistribute, it is called an open source project. It can be a software, an operating system or an application.
There are a number of licenses for open source projects with each having their own terms and conditions for sharing and redistributing. For the end user, open source just means freedom. You know what you are using, you know how the process is getting through the software or an operating system.
Even though a normal end user is not sure how things are getting handled in the open source software, they can be sure that the code is going through the eyes of millions of people who are making sure that things are correct and the code does what they are meant to do.
Advantages of open source
Improved Privacy
It makes sure your privacy with respect to your terms are respected. There is a very low possibility that an open source code shares your information without your permission. When dealing with closed source, nobody knows how the data is being handled except the code developer.
Enhanced Development
The code is visible to all. With this level of reach that we are talking here, millions can help to enhance the code that makes sure the development of the code is multiple times faster than a small team of developers dealing with their own closed source code.
Evolution
People down the line do not want to reinvent the wheel again. That is, when the base code of an OS is already available, a new modified and an enhanced OS can be built comparatively quickly, unless the OS needs a build from scratch. People can take the base, modify it and redistribute. This saves a lot of time. This makes sure that it always leaves something back for the humanity to build upon.
Decentralization
A small team developing a software may face issues in replacing critical resources when the resource is leaving the the team. In an open source project a lot of people are already following the project for a while and thus a new replacement is available almost immediately. Even though a specific project dies due to various issues, other people can take it and continue their development.
Variety
People vary and so are their tastes. In open source projects, if something is not upto your taste, most probably there is something out there built by some person which matches your taste. If nothing matches yours, you can always build you own things as the code is readily available to you to modify and you can share the same with others that benefits people who match your taste.
Why open source?
An Open source is a reflection of a win-win scenario. It makes sure the code is developed multiple times faster enhancing the project while still leaving something to the humanity to build upon. A lot of companies are adopting open source projects and are contributing to the same, this enhances the projects, reduces load to the companies, speeds up development process and helps the whole world.
With some heavy number of companies and crowd moving towards open source, it is definitely not an overestimation to say that open source is the futuristic way of dealing with codes. It is one of the solid things in earth that stands as an example on how humanity should evolve.
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