| Beginner's Guide |
What is open source software?
The operating systems and apps a majority of people run on a regular basis are proprietary. This means the software is controlled by someone else. The people using the application or operating system cannot see how it was made, cannot modify it, and often cannot legally share it with other people. This is quite restrictive.
Open source is a term which is usually used to indicate that people who run a program can see the program's source code, the building blocks which are used to make the program work. Software provided under an open source license can usually be modified and redistributed by anyone who has acquired a copy of the software.
There are many types of open source licenses, with some being very liberal in what people can do while others may contain several restrictions which put limits on users and developers. As the Open Source Initiative's website states, "Generally, open source software is software that can be freely accessed, used, changed, and shared (in modified or unmodified form) by anyone."
Open source software is often regarded as beneficial to its users as anyone with the proper skills can fix or improve an open source program. In the open source community, such improvements are usually shared quickly and, as a result, all users of the software benefit. This is in contrast to proprietary software licenses where usually only one person or company is allowed to fix a program's bugs or improve the software.
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