Open Source Software

footbag-small

 

Generally, refers to a program in which the source code is available to the general public for use and/or modification from its original design. Open source code is typically created as a collaborative effort in which programmers improve upon the code and share the changes within the community. Open source sprouted in the technological community as a response to proprietary software owned by corporations.

 

The open-source model includes the concept of concurrent yet different agendas and differing approaches in production, in contrast with more centralized models of developmentsuch as those typically in commercial software companies.[3][page needed] A main principle and practice of open-source software development is peer production by bartering and collaboration, with the end-product, source-material, “blueprints“, and documentation available at no cost to the public. This model is also used for the development of open-source-appropriate technologies,[4] solar photovoltaic technology [5] and open-source drug discovery.[6][7]

 

From Wikipedia, the encyclopedia