Open Source & Proprietary Software

• A software licence is an agreement that allows one or more individuals to legally use a piece of software
• Companies use licences and copyright law to control whether their software can be modified or shared
• Open source software is given away with its source code
• Open source software is software where the source code is made freely available. Users may legally modify the source code to create their own spin-off software, which can be shared under the same licence and term as the original software
• Source code is the actual programming code behind the software. It shows exactly how the software was made
• Well-known examples include Apache HTTP server (runs web servers), GIMP (image editing), Mozilla Firefox (web browser), and VLC media player
• Linux is a hugely succesful open source OS released back in 1991. Hundreds of Linux-based OSs have been developed and shared over the years. The most popular include UBUNTU, Debian and Andriod
• Popular open source software is always supported by a strong online community (forums of users sharing ideas and solving problems). Users actively help to improve software - anyone can play with the source code and suggest bug fixes and improvements to the original developers
• Advantages of Open Source Software:

  • It's usually free
  • Made for the greater good, not profit - it benefits everyone, encourages collaboration, sharing of ideas
  • Software can be adapted by users to fit their needs
  • Wide pool of collaborators can be more creative and innovative than the programmers of one company
  • Popular software is very reliable and secure - any problems are quickly solved by the community
• Disadvantages of Open Source Software

  • Small projects may not get regular updates and so could be buggy or have unpatched security holes
  • There may be limited user documentation
  • No warranties if something goes wrong
  • No customer support (although community forums will often make up for this)
  • Companies using open-source code to make custom software may not want competitors to see their source code, but they have no choice
• Proprietary software is closed source software
• Proprietary software is software where only the complied code is released. The source code is usually a closely guarded secret
• Complied code is the final file that runs - it doesn't tell you how the program was made
• Proprietary software licences restrict the modification, copying and redistribution of the software. It's usually payed for
• Big companies producing proprietary software include Microsoft and Adobe
• Businesses often use proprietary software instead of open source. Proprietary software tends to have better customer service options
• Advantages of proprietary software

  • Comes with warranties, documentation, and customer support
  • Should be well-tested and reliable as the company's reputation depends on it. Fixes and updates will come regularly. (Open source will vary more)
  • Usually cheaper for companies than developing their own custom-built software
• Disadvantages of propriatery software

  • Can be expensive
  • Software may not exactly fit a user's needs, and they can't do anything about it
  • Software companies may not maintain older software after warranties expire - they'll want people to buy their latest product