Open source and the community spirit
As an open source enthusiast, I try to use as much FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) as possible. You may be asking, what is FOSS. Well, you use it every day. Did you know that the WordPress platform we use for building sites is open source software? So are many of the WP plugins we add to it. WordPress was built on other open source software such as MySQL (for database management) and PHP (used for web development). Have you noticed that you have the option to add code to your WordPress themes and plugins? This can only be done because it’s FOSS.
Open source software has given us tremendous freedom. We can use, study, copy, modify and redistribute the software. We can leverage its power and freeness to undertake numerous business ventures, profit from and to change the world through our creative imagination. We can mostly use it for free and we can improve its core if we have the skills to do so. What a blessing we have been given. Along with this freedom, we have also been given a great opportunity and all the tools needed to succeed, create valuable products and compete with anyone.
FOSS has also allowed absolutely anyone to learn to program using free text editors such as Notepad, Notepad++, Vim, Brackets and many others. Want to learn to code now? You can start here for free.
Open Source is a Community Effort - The real beauty of FOSS
Open source code is exactly what it says it is; “open.” That simply means that it is naked or exposed for all to see. All of the programmer’s code is there for anyone to scrutinize, improve on, correct and learn from. It is for this very reason that open source code is usually very well written and pretty much safe to use. A coder's reputation depends on it, as there are many other talented hawks looking at each other's code. A coder wants to be proud of their work so that when it is examined, it is good clean code. This can have many benefits if they are looking for work.
Many talented programmers contribute to open source projects and from all over the world. This is the reason why it is known to be stable and safe, as many hours have gone into testing and development. Many programmers continue to contribute regularly to improve software projects on a daily basis. This community of programmers contribute many man-hours to various projects, thereby giving it more attention than closed source could ever get.
The source is with you
All software programs are made up of source code whether closed or open. This code is written by programmers to instruct or to tell a computer what to do. That’s it! Think of code as a language used for writing statements for the computer to read and interpret. The better the code the better your program will perform.
In closed source software such as the Windows family or Apple’s OS X (based on UNIX), the platform is built using millions of lines of code, which by the way, does not in any way indicate the quality of that the program. The best code is simple, accurate and with as few lines as possible. However, this code is not visible to us. In other words you cannot access to make any adjustments whatsoever. It is protected by copyright and is a propriety product.
Windows OS: Closed Source - built using C, C++ (open source software) and C# (a modification of C programming language).
Mac OS X: Closed Source - using the UNIX operating system
Examples of Free and Open Source software are:
- Chromium, Firefox, Opera, Libre Office, Open Office, GIMP (a popular alternative to Adobe Photoshop) , Apache Web server and lots more.
- Linux is an open source platform used by many organizations and enthusiasts. An alternative to Windows – it has many flavors (versions) such as Ubuntu, CentOS, Linux Mint.
- For the music enthusiasts there is Audacity which is used by many to record, edit and produce professional audio recordings.
How software is built
In order for us to obtain the use of any software, a designer and/or a developer (sometimes the same person) would have used one or more freely available programming languages, to build it out. The same programming languages used to build most software are also free and open source. Isn’t that amazing? Programs such as Java, PHP, C, C++, C#, Python and many others, are free. So again we see that FOSS has been instrumental in allowing us to produce and benefit from amazing software products of today.
Why free software… Why that about?
FOSS was created to give control of the software to the end-users. Some believed that software should always be free and there were many advocates such as Richard Stallman of The GNU Project, began promoting this concept.
WWW runs on open source
The World Wide Web was developed by Sir Tim Berners-Lee and was designed on open source technology. Here is a snapshot of what he stated about the WWW on its creation.
https://webfoundation.org/abou...
Benefits of using FOSS - How it has changed the world
- FOSS has given anyone the opportunity to build on, improve on or integrate it with other platforms to create lucrative businesses
- It allows anyone to start an online or brick and mortar business with as little expense for IT as possible
- One does not have to purchase expensive software to get started
- one can use old systems to run the less power-hungry Linux platform, instead of Windows
- We all have a level playing field and the same opportunity for success as those with heavily invested interests.
Ask the creators of the following programs such as WhatsApp (sold to FaceBook for S19.3 billion, Skype (Acquired by Microsoft for $8.5 billion...all built with FOSS.
Movies made with Blender are just as good as any movie made with proprietary software. Movies made with FOSS. See extensive list here.
Conclusion:
FOSS and Wealthy Affiliate
- Are getting better and better
- Create a level playing field for anyone to be successful
- Leverage the internet
- Use an "open" platform for all approach (same opportunity for all)
- Use an Open Education concept
- Contribute tremendous input to keep overall price low or free
https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/shouldbefree.html
https://www.datamation.com/ope...
-*A lot of open source software is in use in enterprises, small business and in homes.
-*Quite a few closed-source software products were built on top of Free and Open Source Software.
Recent Comments
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Hey David, my friend. You opened my eyes.
I didn't have the idea that you had gone that deep in computing.
Well, your offer is a new insight hopefully for members like me who don't possess FOSS backgrounds.
Agreed with you fully to make FOSS ever cheaper and a blessing for those who seek to using it.
Love it man.
uh.... good post though David.simple you say?
I have used Linux but the games are better on Windows.
Cheers, Jae
Hi Jae. It's more than just games but you are right.
That's no fault of Linux though. It's about proprietary hardware manufacturers not releasing relevant info for Linux coders to produce proper device drivers for graphics cards etc. This happens for many reasons...
David
Great post, David. I didn't know about any of this, technoidiot that I am! But I'm learning. Saving this post to study it later. Carol
Thanks, David. That was sort of tongue in cheek, but you're right. I'm learning to get along with those computer monsters better every day! Hopefully by the end of my first WA year I'll have them tamed and eating out of my hand!!
Great article!
Berners-Lee certainly tried hard to maintain the www as a non-profit resource, free to all. Up until 1991, the US Govt had also helped that along by maintaining legal control of the net, and requiring that all companies seeking access to the net sign an acceptable use policy that limited their activities to research and education.
But the privatisation and commercialisation that followed '91 has unleashed many developments that will never be rolled back, I feel. I can keep holding the tenets of open source software in high regard, but I'm also accepting of the fact that privatisation has produced the new online economy that we here are all participating in.
Yeah, I want to have my cake and eat it, too. :)
WoW
Did you somehow take the technical and make it simple and easier to understand?
Did you actually make it kind of fun?!
Good job!
I’ll be reading this a few times.
Thanks Jared. I changed the title as I realized that it may have been offensive. I was just playing on words. Similar to the self help educational books with the "xyz for "dummies" title.
All the best
No, I wasn't meaning anything to do with your title. I mean your article in general. Your subject matter, my statement applies to your subject matter.
As for your title, it attracted attention. I realize my outspokenness hits nerves here and there. I too will give careful thought to where I post and the context in which my statements are taken.
Hi Jared. No, it wasn't you. I felt a bit uncomfortable about it, to be honest :)
We want to be interesting and catchy but sometimes within the community, one has to be careful not to offend.
David
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You taught me a lot that I didn't already know. I had no idea what exactly FOSS was or any of the histories or specifics. You really taught me a lot. Thank you for taking the time and effert to write this blog post.
Anita
You are welcome, Anita. Most certainly.
David