An Examination of Open Source

Often, particularly in the maker community, the term open source gets thrown around. There's open-source hardware and open-source software. Many Linux operating systems (OSes) for instance are open-source. But there's also free and open-source. Learn all about what open-source is, the difference between free and open, why you should contribute to open-source communities and projects, plus more!

What Is Open Source?

The phrase open source means something modifiable and shareable through publicly available. Although this term first began in reference to software programs, it's now expanded to include a range or projects, values, and principles. Hardware may be open-sourced, such as 3D printing designs that may be downloaded, modified, and shared. The core principles that govern open-source projects are centered on collaboration, enabling prototypes, and community-centric development.

With open-source software, the source code is freely available for anyone to view or modify. Basically, source code is the behind-the-scenes portion of an application that users don't see, but programmers may manipulate to alter or enhance how an app functions. Open-source software features similarities and differences from closed-source software. In a proprietary software model, some source code remains siloed so that only one individual, team, or organization owns and maintains it. As such, only the owners of that closed-source software may legally copy, edit, and share that code. Moreover, users are required to sign a license agreement that they will not share or modify the source code in any way. On the flip side, open-source software makes its source code easily accessible so that any user may copy, edit, and share it. There's still a license agreement, but user permissions generally allow for use in virtually any purpose.

In the spirit of open exchange, some open-source projects maintain what's known as a copyleft license. A copyleft license mandates that a modified open-source program must also include the source code for that app along with it. And in some cases, an open-source license dictates that modifying and distributing a program allows for sharing the source code of that program for free.

Open source definition:  Refers to both open-source software and hardware, and connotes a set of guiding principles with an emphasis on transparency, collaboration, community-centered development, and open exchange. Source code or files are freely available to view, modify, and share.

• Open source means that the source code, or backend code that's not publically facing, is free to view, modify, and distribute
• Refers to both software and hardware
• Emphasis on collaboration, community-focused development, and transparency
• Still includes a licensing agreement

How Did Open Source Begin?

Although open source projects have become incredibly popular in recent history, the origins of open source date back to the 1950s and 60s. The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network, or ARPANET, which eventually morphed into the current Internet's foundation, developed a peer-review process. It encouraged different user groups to collaborate and iterate upon each other's source code. Primarily, this collaboration was forum-driven, which translated smoothly to the introduction of the Internet.

Free vs. Open: Does Open Source Mean Free?

There's often a misconception that open source inherently means free. Free open-source software (FOSS) doesn't necessarily mean free to own, but rather free to use as you wish. Indeed, many open-source projects are free to download and use such as many Linux distros. But FOSS often gets confused with free to own. One of the best examples is Red Hat. Red Hat is a great example. Although Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is based on open-source components including the Linux kernel, there's a software and infrastructure suite allowing users to license its Red Hat-branded Linux OS for deployment in enterprise settings. Developer versions are freely available which, while fine for testing purposes, are unsuitable for business use since they're developer releases, not stable versions. Since RHEL includes customer support, cloud services, managed solutions, and a slew of other features, its operating system remains open source. It's the infrastructure that users pay for. In fact, Fedora and CentOS are free-to-use Linux distributions based on RHEL.

For-profit open-source projects exist. Take the popular programming website Dev.to as an example. While DEV is open source, it's also a for-profit company. The idea reconciles principles of knowledge-sharing and empowering community with turning a profit. Perhaps one of the most unique open source examples is Prusa, a hardware company. The Prusa i3 and Prusa Mini are both open-source printers. You can purchase or print the parts to create your own Prusa clone. And in fact, you'll find many Prusa i3 clones or derivatives on the market. It may not be easy to build an i3 clone from scratch, but theoretically you could. The open source community boasts tons of money-making means, so while the two are often associated, open source does not mean not for profit.

Linux and Open Source

Although open source may refer to hardware and software of all types, open source and Linux share a special relationship. And in fact, even the term open source often conjures up images of Linux operating systems. The Linux kernel is open source and therefore freely available to anyone. Linux as a term refers not to an operating system per se, but rather the Linux kernel which serves as the foundation of Linux distributions. Linus Torvalds created Linux in 1991 as a free, open-source Unix-like operating system. Since then, a slew of Linux distributions spawned including Debian, Ubuntu, Manjaro, and Pop!_OS. While Linux refers to the kernel, many users mean GNU/Linux when dropping the term Linux. GNU/Linux essentially is a distro based on the Linux kernel that includes various components such as a desktop environment and application menu. Linux source code remains copyrighted and licensed under the GPLv2 license, or General Public License. So while the Linux kernel is open-sourced, all Linux distros are not open-source. Some such as Ubuntu, Debian, and CentOS are fully open-source, whereas Red Hat Enterprise Linux is not.

Linux and open-source:  The Linux kernel is open-source, and while many Linux distros are open-source, not all Linux OSes are open-source.

What Are the Benefits and Downsides of Open-Source Software?

Open-source carries many benefits. For one, there's increased control over an application or a project. Increased code transparency comes through open sourcing. Since virtually anyone can view and modify open-source code, it's possible to have more stable and secure software because of a wider userbase. In theory, more programmers working on a project translates to an uptick in fixed bugs, vulnerabilities, and improvements. And without the reliance on a single organization or entity, users may benefit from long-term development. Plus, with an open code base, knowledge sharing means that programmers have the opportunity to examine open-source code that's publically available to contribute to that project or merely learn from it. And open-source projects often instill a sense of community. Being able to download, examine, and modify a code base inspires a sense of ownership.

Yet open-source projects may have some downsides. A notable disadvantage of open-source software or hardware is support. Whereas closed-source software often features dedicated support, the open-source community relies on forums, first- and third-party documentation, or GitHub pages. As such, popularity is a major factor. Lesser-known open-source projects may suffer from lack of support. And this directly correlates to usability. Set up, user-interfaces, or driver compatibility may be excellent or terrible. What's more, without a budding community policing and monitoring the code base, vulnerabilities and exploits might occur in open-source software whether from malicious parties or good-intentioned but poorly-trained programmers.

• Strong community
• Stability
• Security
• Knowledge-sharing

• Code commits
• Bug fixes
• Adding features
• Getting active on forums
• Authoring help documents
• Writing reviews of and promoting open-source projects

What Is Open Source and Why Should You Care - Final Thoughts