Hello Everyone. This post is about Open Source. At the end of this post, you will get an idea of what Open Source means.
What is Open Source?
If you come across someone saying, "It's an Open Source Software", you might wonder what it means? Does it mean, the software is free? Does it mean it gives full privacy?
If the software is Open Sourced, then it means that the source code of that particular software is available for the public. Anyone can view and modify it for their personal or other purposes. For example, when it comes to Windows you have to pay to get a genuine copy. Whereas when it comes to Linux, the genuine copy is available for free. In this case, Windows is known as
Proprietary Software and Linux is said to be an Open Source Operating System.
Why Open Source? What are its benefits?
Let's say I came up with a Software called "X". Now I am Open Sourcing it. Since the Source Code is available to all, a lot of people will start exploring the code. Here development is done Collaboratively. Many People will show interest to contribute to my software with new ideas, unlike Proprietary Softwares where only the Company or the Owner is responsible for innovative ideas. More the number of people from different background work in the project better the quality of review will be. For an Open Source Project, reviews and suggestions can be made by anyone, from anywhere. Open Source never guarantees that the software is always free. And do not confuse Open Source with Privacy issues.
Some of the features of Open Source are,
▶ Collaboration
▶ Peer and Community Review
▶ Transparent
▶ Cheaper
▶ Flexibility
▶ Reliability
▶ Control
▶ Training
▶ Security
▶ Stability
In the field of Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing and Data Science, a
a lot of innovations occur and most of them are derived from Open Source.
Examples of Popular Open Source Sofware are,
▶ Linux OS
▶ Ansible
▶ Kubernetes
▶ Apache
▶ MySQL
▶ PHP
▶ Android OS
▶ Firefox
When you discuss Open Source, you will come across the terms OSI ( Open
Source Initiative ) and FSF ( Free Software Foundation ) and Licenses.
Free Software Foundation (FSF)
Richard Stallman came up with this foundation to promote the growth of free and open-source software. During his time he saw increased usage of proprietary Softwares which denied the users their freedom to access and modify the source code. So he designed an Open Source Operating System called
GNU (GNU is Not Unix). The word "free" in FSF doesn't mean that the software is available at free cost, it refers to the "freedom" of the users. FSF
promoted and provided Funding for free software development. According to him,
the software has to follow the below regulations to be recognised by FSF.
▶ Freedom to run the program for their own personal use.
▶ Freedom to access and examine how the program functions, and change it so
that it performs as per the instructions.
▶ Freedom to redistribute the copies.
▶ Freedom to redistribute copies of your modified versions.
▶ One of the most popular licenses offered by FSF is the GNU General Public
License v3. To see the complete list of available FSF licenses,
check here.
Open Source Initiative (OSI)
OSI is a non-profit organisation, found by B.Perens and Raymond in 1998. The aim of this organisation is to spread the principles of Open Source. You can check the licenses here. Like
FSF, OSI too had their own regulations.
1. Free Redistribution
The license shall not restrict any party from selling or giving away the software as a component of an aggregate software distribution containing programs from several different sources. The license shall not require a royalty or other fees for such sale.
2. Source Code
The program must include source code and must allow distribution in source code as well as compiled form. Where some form of a product is not distributed with source code, there must be a well-publicized means of obtaining the source code for no more than a reasonable reproduction cost, preferably downloading via the Internet without charge. The source code must be the preferred form in which a programmer would modify the program. Deliberately obfuscated source code is not allowed. Intermediate forms such as the output of a preprocessor or translator are not allowed.
3. Derived Works
The license must allow modifications and derived works, and must allow them to be distributed under the same terms as the license of the original software.
4. The integrity of The Author's Source Code
The license may restrict source-code from being distributed in modified form only if the license allows the distribution of "patch files" with the source code to modify the program at build time. The license must explicitly permit distribution of software built from modified source code. The license may require derived works to carry a different name or version number from the original software.
5. No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups
The license must not discriminate against any person or group of persons.
6. No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor
The license must not restrict anyone from making use of the program in a specific field of endeavour. For example, it may not restrict the program from being used in a business, or from being used for genetic research.
7. Distribution of License
The rights attached to the program must apply to all to whom the program is redistributed without the need for execution of an additional license by those parties.
8. License Must Not Be Specific to a Product
The rights attached to the program must not depend on the program's being part of particular software distribution. If the program is extracted from that distribution and used or distributed within the terms of the program's license, all parties to whom the program is redistributed should have the same rights as those that are granted in conjunction with the original software distribution.
9. License Must Not Restrict Other Software
The license must not place restrictions on other software that is distributed along with the licensed software. For example, the license must not insist that all other programs distributed on the same medium must be open-source software.
10. License Must Be Technology-Neutral
No provision of the license may be predicated on any individual technology or style of interface.
Source: https://opensource.org/docs/osd
Hope you got an Idea what Open Source means.
Share if you find it useful. And Comment if there is any doubts/room for
improvement.
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