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What is Open Source?

Modern systems are often judged by their top-tier functionalities—phones for their high-quality cameras and features, and PCs for their performance and speed. The evolution of computer technologies has brought us to a stage where we consume the resources rather than analyze them. But this means that some of the foundational aspects of these gadgets and consumer technologies are overlooked. Sony’s PlayStation OS, Google’s Android operating system and many others are, in fact, open source operating systems.

Open source refers to software whose code is accessible to anyone—it’s literally 'open' and can be shared freely. This approach contrasts sharply with closed systems like Microsoft Windows, while *NIX systems have evolved as open projects, building communities around them. This model fosters collaboration and is rooted in the belief that software should remain free to evolve for the benefit of users and communities. For example, Linux has seen contributions from programmers working at competing companies, like Novell, Red Hat, and Canonical, as well as hobby developers striving to improve the code. This collaborative effort makes the code freely available to anyone, subject to licenses like MIT, BSD, or GPL.

As large software monopolies diminish, open development is becoming increasingly relevant. Companies promoting transparent strategies are more likely to attract customers who value openness and community support. This trend is especially apparent in emerging technologies like AI. For instance, Google’s decision to release TensorFlow in 2015 allowed many companies to begin building AI applications on a solid, widely supported foundation.

Releasing source code under this model doesn’t just mean free software; it also enables programmers to build successful careers through related services and support.

A Short History of Open Source

Free software is not a new concept. It goes as far back as the 1950s-1960s when software was mostly developed in collaboration by academics and researchers and shared as public-domain software.

In 1984, when the Free Software Foundation and GNU Project was set up and the political idea of free software started to gain more popularity. Under a set of rights that was published under the GNU General Public License (GPL) free software such as GNU C Compiler and GNU Emacs was developed.

The term of Open Source was adopted after 1998, when Netscape released their Netscape Communicator Internet Suite as free software. Christine Peterson suggested the label of open source after Netscape announced the release of a source code for Navigator. Not long after, at an event that would later be named the “Open Source Summit”, the term increased in popularity, and was adopted by the free software community.

By the end of the ‘90s, “open source” would be widely accepted as the term for free software within the software industry.

The Advantages of Open Source

As open source software becomes more and more popular, companies that use proprietary or closed source software begin to struggle competing with those that choose to use open-source. Open source software has the advantage of being easily developed not by just one company, but by several collaborating companies. In addition, individuals can contribute to this development as they have access to modify and improve the code to serve their own needs.

There are certain rights that programmers can rely upon. These are the right to make copies and distribute these copies of the program, the right to access the software’s source code, which is a requirement if you need to change it, the right to improve a program. All these rights ensure equality between the contributors to a software. They guarantee low prices on the market and regulate that modifying an open source program to suit a certain market is not subject to royalties or license fees. That being said, there are certain criteria to comply with when distributing open source.

  • As specified in the BSD Unix license, the code can be copied, modified and redistributed as long as a copy of the original copyright notice is retained.
  • Any documentation or material accompanying the distribution must reproduce the copyright notice, as well as the disclaimer and the list of conditions, for redistributions in binary format.
  • Not claiming authorship for code that was not written by the user and not suing the author for undesired or unexpected functionality.
  • The name of the software, organization or authors in the copyright notice cannot be used to promote or advertise products derived from modifications of the redistributed code, without prior permission.
DID YOU KNOW?

Using FreeBSD instead of Linux for your next project or product means you’re free from the constraints of GPL Licensing.

Using FreeBSD instead of Linux for your next project or product means you’re free from the constraints of GPL Licensing.

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