Open Source

Open Source

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Term2.png Open Source
Open Source software is software whose source code is made openly available so that users and developers can modify or improvise on it. The source code is a collection of statements or declarations written in a programming language to specify the actions that must be performed by a computer.


The concept of open source software is in opposition to the more traditional licensed or proprietary software, where the source code is protected by copyright laws. In the case of open source software, the source code can be publicly viewed. Open source software is protected by free software licences such as GNU GPL, LPGL, AGPL etc. Merely leaving the source code in the public domain can give rise to the problem of coders modifying open source code and redistributing the resulting software as proprietary software. Free software licenses give anybody the legal right to copy, distribute and/or modify open source software, provided they give the same rights to modify and redistribute the source code to future users. As free software licences turn the copy right laws around to protect the freedom to redistribute software freely, protecting open source software is often termed as copyleft.


One drawback associated with open source software is to do with support services. But most problems with open source software can be addressed through online forums. For more complicated problems, developers offer consultancy services at a price.Another drawback is that open source software is often perceived as being unreliable. But this is not necessarily true. Following are some popular and reliable open source software used by several people:[1]
Open Source Software Application
Linux Computer Operating System
Firefox Web browser
Open Office Office application
Thunder Bird E-mail Client


References

  1. ↑ www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/layer?=en&r.s=sc&r.l1=1073861197&r.lc=en&r.l3=1081852444&r.l2=1075422920&topicId=1081852444&r.i=1081853861&r.t=RESOURCES (16 October 2009) [http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/O/open_source.html www.webopedia.com/TERM/O/open_source.html (16 October 2009) [http://searchenterpriselinux.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid39_gci212709,00.html searchenterpriselinux.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid39_gci212709,00.html (16 October 2009) [http://sewww.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/opensource/news/myths_1199.html www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/opensource/news/myths_1199.html (16 October 2009) [http://www.ictregulationtoolkit.org/en/PracticeNote.3182.html www.ictregulationtoolkit.org/en/PracticeNote.3182.html (16 October 2009) [http://www.opensource.org/licenses/gpl-license.php www.opensource.org/licenses/gpl-license.php (16 October 2009) [http://www.gnu.org www.gnu.org (16 October 2009)
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