WHAT DOES OPEN SOURCE MEAN?

Open source touches on computer software or technologies that can be freely accessed, used, modified, and shared by anyone. Such software makes the underlying source code publicly available under licenses that allow the studying, improving and distributing of the software to anyone and for any purpose.

The concept of open source is grounded in collaborative transparency where programmers can view, modify, enhance, and reuse existing code freely to build new software rather than reinventing the wheel. The open sharing of technical information and code harnesses community input to foster innovation and specialized problem-solving on existing programs.

Rather than proprietary models where vendors release software under restrictive, commercial licenses, open source licenses encourage accessing, understanding and building better code collectively. The open code can be deployed in wide range of public, private, educational and commercial solutions for free with relaxed licensing placed on reuse, modification and redistribution under certain conditions depending on the specific open source license.

The model therefore centers community-style peer production open to anyone with little barrier to entry. Open standards and transparency instill freedom of choice, increased security through public code audits, faster advancement through collaboration, and shared economic benefits to all stakeholders. Custom programming for niche needs also becomes more affordable.

Many of today’s most ubiquitous enterprise technologies across operating systems, databases, programming languages, AI frameworks, cloud computing, automation tooling and more run on open source software. Large voluntary communities comprised of commercial tech teams and independent coders contribute to pioneering technologies like Linux, MySQL, Apache, WordPress and ReactJS that form critical digital infrastructure.

Global giants like Google and Microsoft also actively develop key programs used worldwide as free open source software to proliferate technology adoption and collectively pave foundational layers benefiting all applied programming. The open model has fostered flourishing technological innovation.

While debated, open source does not automatically mean free of charge for commercial usage depending on the application and license model. But transparency, freedom to improve code, lack of vendor lock-in and public peer review are central to open source’s viral expansion – especially across cloud, DevOps and service architectures intrinsic to modern technology best practices.