Open source

The previous open source article now exists at open-source software. This article needs help with content that is more about the environment of open source and its history.

Open source movement

The open source movement is a large movement of programmers and other computer users that advocates unrestricted access to the source code of software. It grew out of licenses such as the GPL of free software movement fame and BSD, the ubiquitous access to Unix source code at universities.

Related Topics:
GPL - BSD

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The line between the open source movement and the free software movement is somewhat blurry. Both are founded in the hacker culture. The free software movement is based mostly on political and philosophical ideals, while open source proponents tend to focus on technical arguments. Openness is a term that refers to projects that are open to anyone and everyone to contribute to, before and after the actual programming. Both groups assert that this free and open style of licensing allows for a superior software development process (when compared to closed source), and is in line with rational self-interest.

Related Topics:
Free software movement - Hacker culture - Openness - Closed source

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Free software advocates argue that "freedom" is a paramount merit that one should prefer (or at least weigh heavily) even in cases where proprietary software has some superior technical features.

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Proponents of the open source development methodology claim that it is superior in a number of ways to the closed source method. Some individuals suggest that the open source methodology is able to produce higher quality software than any other methodology or technique.

Related Topics:
Closed source - Extreme programming

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Stability, reliability, and security are frequently cited as reasons to support open source. One successful application of the open source model is the Linux operating system, which is renowned for its stability and security characteristics. Among the works that explore and justify open source development is a series of works by Eric S. Raymond which includes The Cathedral and the Bazaar and Homesteading the Noosphere.

Related Topics:
Linux - Eric S. Raymond - The Cathedral and the Bazaar - Homesteading the Noosphere

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Open source advocates point out that as of the early 2000s, at least 90 percent of computer programmers were employed not to produce software for direct sale, but rather to design and customize software for other purposes, such as in-house applications. According to advocates, this statistic implies that the value of software lies primarily in its usefulness to the developer or developing organization, rather than in its potential sale value -- consequently, there is usually no compelling economic reason to keep source code secret from competitors. Open-source advocates further argue that corporations frequently over-protect software in ways actually damaging to their own interests, for reasons ranging from mere institutional habit through reflexive territoriality to a rational but incorrect evaluation of the tradeoffs between collecting secrecy rent and the quality and market payoff of openness.

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The 2001 film Antitrust portrayed the struggle of a small-time group of open-source programmers against a large Microsoft-like closed-source corporation.

Related Topics:
2001 - Antitrust - Microsoft

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Open source is a term that is applied to the entire concept that the creation and organization of knowledge is best created through open and cooperative efforts—this movement, variously called "open content" or "free culture," has been expressly endorsed by advocates of OSS, including Linus Torvalds who said "The future is 'open source everything.'"

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