

Writers print their books or share them via online platforms. UI/UX designers share their experience on Behance or Dribbble. Scientists and doctors share their experience by writing scholarly articles and participating in scientific conferences. But this intrinsic motivation is the primary reason most people work on open source projects.ĭon't underestimate the importance of personal benefits – those feelings of being helpful and self-accomplished.

If I say that open source developers are driven by altruism and the desire to help others, a lot of people reading this article may smile in disbelief. What Is Great About Developing Open Source Software? Personal benefits And to be sure, the open source model has its pros and cons. Some companies see open source software as the norm, while others prefer developing closed source software. Some examples of proprietary software include some products of Microsoft, Adobe, or Apple. The source code of such a program can be inspected or altered only by its owners.

Some examples of such software are LibreOffice, Mozilla Firefox, and Chromium.īy contrast, there is proprietary software, also called “closed source software”. They can enhance the program’s performance, add some features, and fix errors. Open source software is usually a free software product, where developers have access to the source code. A Creative Commons (CC) license enables everyone to share, use, and build upon your work. To protect all the parties engaged in open source, the project owner can use a Creative Commons license. Open source code is written by developers and for developers. It represents a specific approach to creating computer programs which celebrates the values of collaboration, transparency, and community-oriented development.

The term “open source” was coined within the software development industry and refers to something that anyone can inspect, modify, and share. So, let’s have a closer look at what open source means and what the pros and cons are for working with open source projects. These solutions are often well-crafted, and it is a pleasure to work with that kind of high-quality code. There are a lot of successful examples of open source software solutions, such as Linux (an operating system) or React (a JavaScript library). Many developers are fond of open source projects, and for good reason: they use them every day to speed up their work. It is high time to give back to the people who enable you to use the Internet!
