When it comes to downloading Softwares, then almost all of us search for the freest Softwares on the Internet. While doing this, we also have many free software miles, but did you know that most of these free software consists of Open Source Software, which allows us to easily download them.
Now you must be thinking that why someone will give their created software for free download, why they do not charge money for it, etc. If such questions are also arising in your mind then you should read this article about what is open source software and how it works. Here you will get a lot of information related to Open Source Softwares.
By the way, these open source software are generally free software that you can use in your work. Open-source developers knowingly build them, where they make their source code publicly available, so that others can benefit from it.
They publish them with an open-source license – which means that other developers can also see your code and can add some to it. For example, Open Office, Mozilla Firefox, Wikipedia, the GNU / Linux operating system and its derivative Android, an operating system used in mobile devices.
If you want to know more about open source software, then you have to read this article completely. I hope you are going to get a lot of knowledge in the end. Which you might not find anywhere else in one place on the Internet in English. So let’s start without delay.
Topic List
What is an open-source software
Open-source software (OSS) is called a software whose source code is completely viewable and changeable by the public. In this way, it is open. At the same time, when the source code is not viewable and changeable by the public, then such software is called closed or proprietary software.
Note source code is that behind-the-scenes programming part called a software that users usually cannot see. In the source code, all those instructions and instructions are layouted as to how the software works and how all the features of the software work. Access to source code is only with the developers.
Who is the father of open source software?
Richard Stallman is called the father of Open Source Softwares or Free Softwares. This is because he was the first to develop free software in 1984.
Changes and modifications can be made very easily in this free software, based on users’ preferences. Users have freedom so that they can modify, change, and even share their source code. But all these things are done under a license agreement only for a user or a particular organization.
Open-source software list
Here you will find all the popular open-source operating system lists as well as examples of completely open-source software. [ source ]
| BitTorrent | Blender | Debian |
| Draw | Freely | DRBD |
| Drizzle | Drupal | Ethereal |
| Evergreen | Finnix | FreeBSD |
| Gentoo | Git GNOME | GNU |
| Fladoop | ImageMagick | Inkscape |
| Jenkins | Joomla | jQuery |
| WHERE | Code | Linux |
| LSB | midPoint | Milos |
| MinGW | Mozilla Firefox | Mozilla Thunderbird |
| Mycroft | MySQL | NetBSD |
| Nmap | OpenOtfice.org | OpenStack |
| OpenStreetMap | OpenSUSE | OpenWrt |
| ownCloud | Perl | phpMyAdmin |
| pkgsrc | Python | Qt |
| ReactOS | Selenium | Sendmail |
| SpamAssassin | Subversion | Sugar on a Stick |
| Tor | Triano | Ubuntu |
| VNC | Wine | Wireshark |
| XBMC | X |
Characteristics of open source software
There are also some characteristics of these Free Softwares which are very important to know.
Distribution can be done freely. Its source code is fully accessible, while the source code can be modified by anyone and these modifications can also be distributed to others.
These open-source software mostly evolve through the support community and based on the development strategy adopted by them. At the same time, they help in improving the quality of the software and the active participation of these communities is also encouraged.
Companies that used to promote proprietary software are now adopting these open source software because of their so many features. For example, the UNIX kernel is most commonly used in open source projects.
Meaning of open source software
Open-source software (OSS) is a software that is distributed with source code, which any user can read or modify.
The OSS community generally agrees to open-source software that follows the following criteria:
- This program can be freely distributed.
- The source code has to be included in the program.
- Anyone should be able to modify its source code.
- Modified versions of source code also have to be redistributed.
An open-source software license should not interfere with the operation of any other software.
Where traditional software is distributed in an unchangeable compiled format, open-source software is delivered to both compiled and non-compiled formats, making it available for open code modification.
At the same time, under a traditional software license, this privilege is reserved only for copyright holders.
How does open-source software work?
From a business user perspective, then open-source software works to a large extent similar to proprietary software systems provided by commercial software firms.
The biggest difference in this is that generally, you do not have to pay anything in it. While there are some other differences in this – just as the users using this open-source software are effectively co-developers, they are also suggesting new ways to improve them and also in getting the bugs out. Also, help.
This means that if you want, you can also modify it according to your needs, you can also port it to other new operating systems and share it with others.
What is the difference between open-source software and other types of software?
In some software, only some people, teams, or organizations that create the source code, they only have control over them – and they also maintain their exclusive control – they can modify them. Such type of software is called ” proprietary ” or ” closed source ” software.
Only the original developers of this proprietary software can legally copy, inspect, and modify this software. To use this proprietary software, computer users have to agree to its rules and regulations (usually it is visible to you when you install the software when you run it for the first time), while the users only with it They can do the same thing as the software creators are allowed to do. For example, Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop are such proprietary software.
Open source software is very different. Their authors make their source code available for everyone so that anyone can view them, copy them, and modify it according to their own. For example, LibreOffice and GNU Image Manipulation Program are similar open-source software.
Is open-source software important only for computer programmers?
The simple answer is no. Both open source technology and open source thinking are very useful for programmers and non-programmers.
Since earlier inventors have mostly used open source technologies to create the Internet – such as the Linux Operating System and the Apache Web server application – so any user who is using the Internet should use these open-source software. Has been for its benefit.
Whenever a user sees web pages in their computer, checks email, chats with their friends, streams music online, or plays multiplayer video games, in their computers, mobile phones, or gaming consoles He connects with the computers of a global network, then he is inadvertently using the right but open source software so that he routes and transmit the data to his “local” devices.
It is clear from this that not only the programmers are using Open Source Software, but they are also used by all the rest. They are all around us and even inadvertently we are using it.
What are the licenses of open source software?
Although a lot of Licences are used in these open-source projects, it depends on which developers are more preferred for their programs.
GPL, or GNU (General Public License), is most commonly used in many open-source projects, such as Linux. With the definition of open-source mentioned above, in terms of GPL, it is specified that if someone modifies an open-source program and also distributes a derivative work, then they have to accompany it Source code also has to be distributed.
Understand this in easy language, then if anyone prepares a closed-source program by taking any open-source code, using it – then they also have to return the community after releasing that modified version. Otherwise, he may not be penalized for this.
At the same time, there are some other licenses also, such as BSD license, which rarely place restrictions on developers. If anyone program comes under the BSD license, then it can use the source code of an open-source program to prepare software according to its own. In this, there is no need to release this modified version. Developers love this license because it gives them a great discount.
Why do people like using open source software more?
Most people like open-source software as compared to proprietary software because there are many reasons, about which we are going to know further:
Control
People have more control in these open-source software as compared to proprietary softwares. Here they can examine the code themselves, while they can also make necessary modifications according to it. Non-programmers can also use them on their own.
Training
Others who like them because they use them can become better programmers. Since their source codes are publicly accessible, students can read them easily and can learn a lot from them and make better software.
At the same time, students can also share their modified work with others so that they can know their point of view so that they can increase their developing skills.
Security
Some people like this software because they find them more secure than proprietary software. In this, updates keep coming from time to time where its errors are published properly. So they like these more.
Stability
Most users prefer to use this software for their important long-term projects. This is because by doing this they do not have to worry about the source code of their software.
Because in cases of proprietary software, if the original creator ever stops working, then they may have a lot of trouble for it in the future. The open-source software works both incorporate and operate according to open standards.
Does “open source” only mean to be Free of Charge?
The answer is no. This is a very common misconception regarding ” open source “, here it is not only about money.
Open-source software programmers can also charge money for these open-source software which they have created or they have contributed.
But in most cases, to get an open-source license, they have to release their source code in a lot of places when they think of selling it. At the same time, some programmers feel that they can get more money from their software services and support, not just the software. That’s why they free their software most of the time while helping people to troubleshoot their problems.
Benefits of open-source software
So let’s know about the benefits of Open Source Softwares.
OSS allows programmers to collaborate so that they can improve the software. For which they fix the errors in it which are in the code (bug fixes), as well as update the software so that it can work in the new technology. Apart from this, they are also helpful in developing new features in it.
With this group collaboration approach, new features in these open source projects also come very quickly and they are released very frequently.
This software is much more stable so that more programmers can find its errors, and its security updates can also be implemented better than other proprietary software programs.
OSS is often free. But in some cases, you also have to pay the extra cost, these software programs for technical support and some services.
Advantages of open source software
Let us know about the advantages of Open Source Software.
1. They are generally free – It has been estimated that these open-source software collectively save businesses whose value is about $ 60 billion a year. In the present times, you can easily find an open-source version of each paid proprietary software system in its place.
2. They constantly evolve in real-time because the developers add a lot of things to it and modify, which means that it is of better quality and is also more secure, which is why it has bugs The possibilities are very rare compared to proprietary systems.
3. Using these open source software also shows that you are not restricted in using the systems of a particular vendor that works only on their own devices.
4. You can also modify and adapt this software according to your requirements, which may not be possible with proprietary systems.
Disadvantages of open source software
Now let us know about the Disadvantages of Open Source Software.
1. Since there is no requirement to make it a commercial product so that it can generate money, so open-source software develops more according to the requirements of the users.
2. This is the reason that they are very less ” user-friendly “because not much importance is given in its user interface.
3. They often have little to no support. Therefore, if there is a problem, then you have to depend on their forum and community to get a solution to that problem. Which can be a bit irritating.
4. Although this open-source software is mostly free in itself, there are some indirect costs involved as well, such as you may have to pay for external support.
5. Being an Open System, many people are involved in it, which helps a lot in finding its bugs. At the same time, some people can also misuse these vulnerabilities of the software.
6. Since Open Source Software is not very user-friendly, you must have a little technical knowledge to understand and use them properly. Otherwise, you may have to depend on others for basic functionalities.
Conclusion
I hope you have liked this article about what is open-source software. It has always been my endeavor to provide complete information about the open-source software list to the readers so that they do not have to search concerning that article on any other site or the internet. This will also save their time and they will also get all the information in one place.
Leave a Reply