The full text is 1931 words, and the expected learning time is 5 minutes
Source: unsplash
Open source software (OSS) is admired by many people. When a new project is about to be developed, we usually use OSS to complete it. Paradoxically, the interest in OSS has also led to many distortions and misunderstandings. For inexperienced users, practice will make them gradually lose their trust in it.
Debricked has been committed to open source software for many years and has developed a large knowledge base. Therefore, we want to break the most common misunderstandings about open source software.
· A project developed using open source is a completely open project
Any software project consists of many aspects: project source code, information about uncorrected defects, test source code, documentation, etc. The source code of the project is only part of it, and free access to these codes does not grant the right to open the entire project. In addition to the source code, other development artifacts should be free, and the more open the artifacts, the more open the project will be to contributors.
In addition, a transparent process is required between all community members to promote open communication in the project. All these measures will contribute to the development of the project and the productive cooperation of community members. Therefore, the code may be completely usable, but the development process may be closed and opaque.
· Software based on open source projects is automatically open source
Companies that develop commercial solutions based on open source projects can include proprietary components in their products. This is because the additional closed features can give them a competitive advantage in companies based on this open source project.
Closed components usually form products, which companies can sell to customers and profit from them. This is part of the freedom of open source software-you are free to choose the option that suits you best.
· Open source software is completely free
Source: unsplash
It is generally believed that free software is completely free because it is free to use. However, the price of any software itself is only a small part of the cost of using it. Open source software is no exception. Before using it, you should evaluate its entire life cycle.
This is the only way to determine whether it is profitable to implement open source software. One of the benefits of OSS is that there is basically no marginal cost, because as the deployment expands, it usually does not require additional licenses.
There is no need to purchase program use rights (licenses), which actually occurs during the purchase of commercial software. However, different costs are incurred each time, such as installation and development time costs, service costs (for example, inexperienced users request support, or the organization pays the IT department for implementation and technical support), or the cost of owning the company .
Which option the company chooses depends on the business, but the fact is that projects that implement and use open source solutions will not be free.
· Due to lack of technical support, you cannot start business on open source solutions
For users, support is the key. Without support, an ordinary user may be able to use open source software normally, but the company needs technical support in most cases. Important open source projects are either actively supported by the developer community, or some companies can provide support for large enterprises on a commercial basis, and if necessary, they can also add required features to the product.
In fact, open code means that experienced users have more opportunities to discover possible vulnerabilities and scan their security. In addition, the OSS community is also working hard to improve the code, largely to maintain its reputation.
· The quality of OSS is poor, because anyone can write code for it
The main principle of OSS is open joint development, and its essence is to ensure that other participants cannot hide low-quality code, loopholes, and other problems. The people involved in these projects are ready to accept the fact that their work will be analyzed and criticized, they cannot cheat, and no developer wants to lose their precarious reputation.
In addition, in some communities (such as the Linux kernel development as the subject) there is a strict principle-only tested and flawless code is accepted into the original kernel. The developer's first attempt to add low-quality changes will be rejected, and the second attempt will damage the reputation of the individual or the funding company.
Source: unsplash
Open source projects do provide the possibility for anyone to participate in writing code, but in important projects, because of the high barriers to entry, people with insufficient professional knowledge will not accept the code. Most large IT companies (IBM, Google, Canonical, Parallels, etc.) have a complete department in which experts can be paid to work on open source projects, thereby indirectly working for the company's products.
It is worth mentioning that companies that develop products based on open source projects are very interested in improving the code of the open projects they use. Usually, they also have the hope of creating a safe product. Therefore, all discovered problems and OSS vulnerabilities must be fixed. Debricked can alleviate this trouble by automatically detecting and fixing vulnerabilities.
These misunderstandings mostly appear among users who have just started using open source software or have never tried it. The best way to eliminate misunderstandings is to use more to solve these problems, and start your journey quickly!
Share the dry goods of AI learning and development together
Welcome to follow the full platform AI vertical self-media "core reading"
(Add the editor WeChat: dxsxbb, join the reader circle, and discuss the freshest artificial intelligence technology together~)