Open Source and Closed Source

Open source and closed source are the source availability models that are used to distribution software. There are many things to take into consideration when you compare open source software and closed source software. Closed source software is also known as proprietary software, and open source is known simply as open source.

Closed source are before known for stable releases and adequate supports from its creators. Users that purchase the product will have various options for utilizing the software in a guided line provided. On the other hand, most open source projects are born from small companies and/or communities and individuals who would like to distribute their software without any license agreement, revealing themselves as an 'alternative' to closed source. But today, both models are getting head-to-head as open source projects are getting more developed with their immense customization, and mature by the massive support from their communities.

Closed Source

Closed source software, or proprietary software is licensed by the owner of the software. The owner of the software has the exclusive legal rights. These rights are given to the purchaser of the software. Usually this is given in the form of a license that the states that the purchaser is allowed to use the program or software, under specific rules and regulations.

A non-free license is used to limit what free software movement advocates consider to be the essential freedoms. A closed source license is one that limits only the availability of the source code. By contrast a copyleft license claims to protect the "four software freedoms" by explicitly granting them and then explicitly prohibiting anyone to redistribute the package or reuse the code in it to make derivative works without including the same licensing clauses.

The user is not allowed to modify, reverse engineer, or give the product out to others under the legal restrictions of the license. Many products that you may use on a daily basis may be closed source software. Adobe Flash Player and Photoshop, Skype, and iTunes are examples of proprietary software. Microsoft Windows is another commonly used example of a closed source software that is well known.

The primary business model for closed-source software involves the use of constraints on what can be done with the software and the restriction of access to the original source code. This can result in a form of imposed artificial scarcity on a product that is otherwise very easy to copy and redistribute. The end result is that an end-user is not actually purchasing software, but purchasing the right to use the software.

Open Source

Open source is the opposite of closed source. A philosophy, and a methodology that promotes free redistribution and access to an end product's design and implementation details.

Opening the source code enabled a self-enhancing diversity of production models, communication paths, and interactive communities. The open-source software movement was born to describe the environment that the new copyright, licensing, domain, and consumer issues created. The source code is published and made available to the public, enabling anyone to copy, modify and redistribute the source code without paying any royalties.

Open source software like FileZilla and the xvid codec on the other hand gives us the availability to not only share technology and information freely, but also to adapt it and make it usable how we want it. Many times, open source software is free to use, as well as give to others. There are many types of open source software, including Linux, WordPress, and even Mozilla Firefox. A very large number of types of software are now available through open source, and more are becoming available every day.