Posts Tagged ‘open source software development’

I was wondering which is the world’s largest open source software development Web site? I am only familiar with Paragent. Anybody please clear my doubt.
Thanks in Advance.
Techbrain55

Is open source the right option for your online training, teaching, or learning efforts? This articles compares the difference between open source and proprietary software. Open source software has become mainstream. Applications such as the Firefox Web browser and Linux operating system are available to aid in all areas of operation, including teaching and learning. Open source software has become a strong contender in online training and e-learning sectors. As technology continues to evolve, more open source offerings will continue to emerge in the area of e-learning, continuously changing the landscape of online teaching and learning both in academia and business fields.

Open source software has grown to include:

1. Learning management systems (LMS)
2. Learning content management systems (LCMS)
3. Course authoring tools
4. Tools to create media elements such as animations, audio, and video
5. Browsers and players to present content
6. Courseware libraries

These resources has some important benefits:

1. Open source software is free to download therefore lower in cost.
2. Flexibility and customizability
3. Extensive active builder and user communities that forms a good technical support base.
4. Many open source applications run on multiple platforms including Windows and Linux.
5. Adherence to established standards, which is a high priority for open source software development.
6. Ability to use and link to other open source software

Most proprietary software comes without the source code, which is the code originally written by the programmer. Without this code you do not have right to change the way the software is developed. When you buy proprietary software you are essentially buying the right to use the software in a specific way, and in many cases the company that developed it owns the software, and you just purchase rights to use it.

The main difference between commercial support for proprietary software and commercial support for open source software is that the proprietary software is obligatory and the open source software is optional. If you opt out of paying for support for proprietary software, you lose the right to use it in most cases. The costs incidentally tend to be quite high for proprietary software.

Perceived advantages of proprietary software include:

1) Reliable, professional support and training available;
2) Packaged, comprehensive, modular formats; and
3) Regularly and easily updated.

The downside however is that it is:

1) Costly, and
2) has closed standards that hinder further development.

Open sources software has the advantage of:

1) Low cost and no license fees;
2) Open standards that facilitate integration with other systems; and
3) it is easily customizable.

The down side is:

1) Lack of professional support;
2) Evolving developer communities;
3) Lack of release co-ordination; and
4) Erratic updates. However, with such a large development and user-base, many discussion forums and help sites are available for users.

So what is the right solution for you and your organization? Generally, for smaller organizations and projects, Open source solutions seem to suffice. The difference in cost more than makes up for the perceived disadvantages mentioned above. Larger organizations seem to require more robust, high-quality product with high levels of service and support. They want responsibility, reliable assistance, and support from their suppliers.

With rapid developments in technology, chances are you can find tools to meet your training needs in either the open source or commercial sector. But open source provides unique advantages which include filling the low-cost high-control niche that are difficult, if not impossible, to achieve through commercial, proprietary avenues.

Author: Sophia Peters
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Beading Necklace

Open-source software (OSS) is computer software whose human-readable source code is widely available perhaps under copyright. People may then modify the software and redistribute it, whether modified or not. Development is often a public, collaborative process. It is claimed that open source software may save consumers $60 billion per year.

Let’s look more closely at some of the distribution criteria. Any redistribution must include the source code. Reasonable reproduction costs are allowed, but the software is usually downloaded free via the Internet. Modifications must be distributed under the same terms as the original product. Discrimination against individuals, groups, or fields of application is forbidden. The license may not specify use of any technology.

Open-source software stems from the free software movement that started in 1983. The word free can mean no cost or at liberty. To avoid this ambiguity, people started using the term open-source software. Netscape released its Internet browser source code as open source. Yet the company was sold for several billion dollars even though users didn’t have to pay to download the browser.

Here are several principles of open-source software development. Users should be treated as co-developers. They can add valuable features to the software. According to Linus’s Law, “Given enough eyeballs all bugs are shallow.” The more users the more testing environments. Microsoft has partially adopted this principle by making beta versions of software such as Windows 7 available to millions of people. The software should be released early to get more people involved as soon as possible. The fixes should be added quickly rather than towards the end of the project. The software should come in at least two versions, one with more features and the other more stable.

Does open-source software work? Let’s examine some of the successes. Linux is a widely used operating system, in essence a variant of the decades-old Unix operating system. Many organizations have adopted Linux replacing Microsoft Windows based systems. Firefox is the second most widely used Internet browser. Open-source software doesn’t always come in second. For more than a dozen years Apache has been the most widely used Internet web server. It is well integrated with other open-source software such as Linux but also works with Microsoft Windows. If you want the latest Apache updates and fixes (and presumably most web hosting companies do) you will get them first for Linux and only later for Microsoft Windows. The Perl programming language is nicknamed “the Swiss Army chainsaw of programming languages” because of its adaptability and flexibility.

How do people make money when the open-source software is given away free? There are several answers. Some people and companies make money from consulting and training fees. Another possibility is charging for advanced product versions. For example, the popular open-source database MySQL can be downloaded for free and literally millions of people have done so. Companies that need the Enterprise version will be ready to pay the relatively moderate fees. There must be something right with this business model; MySQL was recently sold to Sun Microsystems for more than $1 billion.

Author: Levi Reiss
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Digital Camera News