What does it mean for software to be open source

Compiled means that the actual program code that the developer created, known as the source code , has run through a special program called a compiler that translates the source code into a form that the computer can understand see How C Programming Works for details on compilers. It is extremely difficult to modify the compiled version of most applications and nearly impossible to see exactly how the developer created different parts of the program. Most commercial software manufacturers see this as an advantage that keeps other companies from copying their code and using it in a competing product.

It also gives them control over the quality and features found in a particular product. Open source software is at the opposite end of the spectrum. The source code is included with the compiled version and modification or customization is actually encouraged. The software developers who support the open source concept believe that by allowing anyone who's interested to modify the source code, the application will be more useful and error-free over the long term.

To be considered as open source software by the software development industry, certain criteria must be met:. Let's take a look at a real world example of open source software. Open source technology and open source thinking both benefit programmers and non-programmers. Because early inventors built much of the Internet itself on open source technologies—like the Linux operating system and the Apache Web server application —anyone using the Internet today benefits from open source software.

Every time computer users view web pages, check email, chat with friends, stream music online, or play multiplayer video games, their computers, mobile phones, or gaming consoles connect to a global network of computers using open source software to route and transmit their data to the "local" devices they have in front of them.

The computers that do all this important work are typically located in faraway places that users don't actually see or can't physically access—which is why some people call these computers "remote computers. More and more, people rely on remote computers when performing tasks they might otherwise perform on their local devices.

For example, they may use online word processing, email management, and image editing software that they don't install and run on their personal computers. Instead, they simply access these programs on remote computers by using a Web browser or mobile phone application.

When they do this, they're engaged in "remote computing. Some people call remote computing "cloud computing," because it involves activities like storing files, sharing photos, or watching videos that incorporate not only local devices but also a global network of remote computers that form an "atmosphere" around them.

Cloud computing is an increasingly important aspect of everyday life with Internet-connected devices. Some cloud computing applications, like Google Apps, are proprietary. Others, like ownCloud and Nextcloud , are open source. Cloud computing applications run "on top" of additional software that helps them operate smoothly and efficiently, so people will often say that software running "underneath" cloud computing applications acts as a " platform " for those applications.

Cloud computing platforms can be open source or closed source. OpenStack is an example of an open source cloud computing platform. Many people prefer open source software because they have more control over that kind 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 change parts of it they don't like. Users who aren't programmers also benefit from open source software, because they can use this software for any purpose they wish—not merely the way someone else thinks they should.

However, the most significant event in the open source movement is Netscape's decision to make the Netscape Communicator—a set of internet applications—available for free in the s. This was a big deal because Netscape Navigator was the most widely used web browser during the time. Additionally, the source code was what led to the creation of Mozilla Firefox.

Netscape's decision was the beginning of the snowball effect when it comes to open source software as shortly afterwards, on February 3, , the term open source was coined.

This happened during a meeting in Palo Alto, California. A little later, the organization known as Open Source Initiative OSI was conceived with the mission of educating the masses about open source software and its advantages. As is evident, the open source movement and OSS in general shaped the current landscape of technology. Nowadays, most of us use one form of open source software without even realizing it.

Looking for free open-source apps for Windows? Here are some of the best software you can install. Manuviraj is a Features Writer at MakeUseOf and has been writing about video games and technology for over two years. Protocol labs, developer of Filecoin, intends to pursue a similar open model and has previously exemplified the open source model of development with its IPFS project , developing that code in public repositories and releasing it under the MIT license.

Cryptocurrencies and open blockchain networks may provide functionality that would be regulated if it was provided by a single corporation.

A centralized issuer of digital currency like Liberty Reserve or E-gold is a money services business and must register with FinCEN and be licensed to transmit money in every state. If that issuer decides to market her tokens as an investment then they may be securities and she may need to register with the SEC. These regulations make sense because centralized services carry the risk that the party in the middle will fail to uphold her promises or adequately test and secure her products.

But technologies like Bitcoin can create the same functional result with an open and unowned network, rather than a corporation, at the center.

Users join these networks and open source software aligns their incentives toward cooperation and, ultimately, agreement over every scrap of data needed to make a currency. Indeed, token projects based on proprietary code may simply be centralized service-providers hiding behind jargon and blockchain nonsense.

For genuine projects in this space, however, the code that builds the decentralized network, that allows participants to trust each other, aligns their incentives, and punishes fraud is itself decentralized. Education Cryptocurrency What are Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies? What is cryptocurrency good for? Is Bitcoin regulated? Advanced Topics What is multi-sig, and what can it do? What is Bitcoin mining, and why is it necessary?

Policy and Regulation When does a company actually control customer bitcoins? How can law enforcement leverage the blockchain in investigations? Does 18 U.