Everyone needs an application which can be customized in modern research operations. Open Source Software Programs give the user an advantage of customizing the software which serves their interests of modern research techniques. The source code is made available to the users and developers of open source software so that they can modify or add features to it.
History of Open Source Software
The open source software was developed with the prime aim of circulating and collaborating the codes in order to make software more feasible and secure. It started with the development of operating systems UNIX, LINUX and which was used for academic purposes.
The universities had been finding it difficult to pay for exorbitant fees for software registrations and it equally difficult for them to modify the software as the source code was not shared with the users. The universities then got a viable option in terms of open source software.
Share and Innovate
Suppose you are working on an application which demands flexibility on various platforms, open source software gives you the option to share and work on the same application. The extensive collaboration among the programmers and users from diverse backgrounds ensure that the software products keep improving and innovative methods are applied to make it more secure and feasible.
Having an absolute control over your software gives you the advantage to manipulate and upgrade changes as per your requirement. You can innovate the existing software as the source code is available to you to freely modify or add the features to the software.
Available for Free
This is another fascinating aspect of an open source software. You can easily download the software from the internet and install it on your machine. This will save your money.
Safe and Reliable
Since these systems are free to use, a lot of developers across different domains add security features to the operating system all of the time. The developers may identify vulnerabilities in the operating system while customizing it and hence, fix the issues immediately. This way the open source software becomes safer and less vulnerable.
Sustainability
Sometimes tools or some features may disappear from the licensed software programs in the event of a change or upgradation by the developers of the licensed software organizations. And since you are not in full control of the software you cannot retain the changes or make the changes in the software as per your need.
Open source software gives you the ability to work on the tasks without any interruptions as the features in the Open Source Software remain intact and untouched as long as you wish. Someone who is working on highly important tasks can be sure that the useful features won’t disappear, even if the developers from the source stop working on them.
Since source code is available to the user, you can be in control of retaining and developing the source code and by extension features of your open source software. You can be assured that the project is completed without any hassles or your daily operations are not hampered.
It Gets Better with Time
This feature is generally beneficial for students. Students who are trying to customize the software can invite others to comment on their work and improve the software accordingly.
Innovative hardware and core software companies like Hewlett Packard and IBM are making conscious efforts by funding and encouraging this open source software. Companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google have implemented open source as the foundation for their could-based services applications and infrastructure.