Philosophy, not a subject that is normally associated with software, is actually major component of the current revolution in software.
Proprietary Model
Traditionally, the philosophy of commercial software development was profit based. A company creates a new software product comprised of source code that has been compiled into a binary. It then sells the binary on some type of media shrink wrapped in a colorful box with a manual on a
shelf at a major retailer. The company keeps the source code, never to be shown to the user. This is known as the proprietary model. It works well due to the relative unfamiliarity of the average consumer or user. The consumer is dependent on the producer for bug fixes support and updates. Most software purchased today is still made using the proprietary model.
Free Software
The philosophy of free software can be summed up in one word, FREEDOM. After a particularly frustrating battle with a printer and a UNIX system, one hacker, Richard Stallman started thinking about a better way. He eventually set about to design a system that gave the user freedom to modify and share the code underlying the system. He has since devoted his life to this cause. He created the Free Software Foundation (FSF) to help achieve his goals and various Licenses GNU General Public License (GPL), GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) to enforce his ideals. He then set about to replace the Unix Operating System with a "Free" replacement, building it one piece at a time. He started with the tools required to build the system, a text editor, a compiler and other various utilities and applications as needed. He was quickly joined by others who shared his ideals and contributed their own applications. These applications proved popular to engineers and developers using a UNIX system and since you were free to modify the code, ports were made to other operating systems and hardware architectures. Pretty soon the GNU (GNU is Not Unix) applications were popping up at universities and corporations everywhere.
Proprietary Model
Traditionally, the philosophy of commercial software development was profit based. A company creates a new software product comprised of source code that has been compiled into a binary. It then sells the binary on some type of media shrink wrapped in a colorful box with a manual on a
Free Software
The philosophy of free software can be summed up in one word, FREEDOM. After a particularly frustrating battle with a printer and a UNIX system, one hacker, Richard Stallman started thinking about a better way. He eventually set about to design a system that gave the user freedom to modify and share the code underlying the system. He has since devoted his life to this cause. He created the Free Software Foundation (FSF) to help achieve his goals and various Licenses GNU General Public License (GPL), GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) to enforce his ideals. He then set about to replace the Unix Operating System with a "Free" replacement, building it one piece at a time. He started with the tools required to build the system, a text editor, a compiler and other various utilities and applications as needed. He was quickly joined by others who shared his ideals and contributed their own applications. These applications proved popular to engineers and developers using a UNIX system and since you were free to modify the code, ports were made to other operating systems and hardware architectures. Pretty soon the GNU (GNU is Not Unix) applications were popping up at universities and corporations everywhere.
If you need expensive software but your wallet won't support it, the answer is a lot easier (and a lot more legal!) than cracked programs. Think Open Source! There's an Open Source application available, often for free, for almost every computer need you can imagine.
By LeiLani Dawn | Published 1/25/2007 | Read more »
A brief look at the beginings of open source, how it works and why it is a better system for creating software.
By David Jonas | Published 4/1/2005 | Read more »
Open source began as a philosophy in software that is now expanding into areas that promote a collective community experience but which challenges old notions of indiivdual intellectual property rights.
By Claire Moylan | Published 5/17/2006 | Read more »
Open Source Video Games have come a long way in the last few years. This series of articles looks at the current state of games in the Free or Open Source World.
By MrCopilot | Published 12/17/2007 | Read more »
Why open source software like Drupal and WordPress make sense.
By Jean Marquit | Published 2/26/2008 | Read more »
Enter Open Source, Freeware and Shareware. Open Source products are not necessarily free from cost, the free refers to the source code being open for others to use and incorporate.
By Robert Truman | Published 11/22/2006 | Read more »
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Posted on 08/02/2008 at 12:08:32 AM