Computer Basics: What does 'Open Source' mean?
93Hello campers, I'm Anthony also known as dapperAuteur on Free Code Camp and GitHub.
Thank you for joining me on this short hike about Open Source code.
I'm going to explain open source code by comparing it to its opposite, closed source code.
There are a variety of models in between the two. Open source code is published, shared, public, and supported by the community. Closed source code is not published, not shared, not public, and it is not supported by a community.
What makes open source code so important to us is the fact that it is supported by the community. Anything that is created with open source code is done by those who use it.
An example of open source code would be Linux software. It's opposite would be Windows or Apple's OSX operating systems. Linux was created and is available for free and it is supported by the community.
However, all open source code isn't free. Some are, most are. But, the major difference between open source code and all other types of code is the fact that it's, the code is available for you to use and then improve upon.
An example would be a recipe. You can find recipes online. You buy the same products in stores and not have access to the recipes.
One example is Coca-Cola. You get Coca-Cola in a variety of flavors. If you want a new flavor of Coca-Cola, you must wait for the organization that owns the recipe to make that new flavor. You can ask for it, but there's no guarantee you'll get it.
With a recipe you can find for your own cola online, you can make changes to it. Make your own cola, your own cherry, your own vanilla, your own chocolate cola and then you can share that with the rest of the community and that will be an open source recipe, an open source product.
Again, open source public, published, shared. Open source software is supported by and improved upon by the community.
-
We're busy people who learn to code, then practice by building projects for nonprofits. Learn Full-stack JavaScript, build a portfolio, and get great references with our open source community.
Join our community at http://freecodecamp.com
Follow us on twitter: https://twitter.com/intent/user?scree...
Follow us on Twitch: twitch.tv/freecodecamp
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freecodecamp
Follow Quincy on Quora: http://www.quora.com/Quincy-Larson
Other Videos By freeCodeCamp.org
| 2016-09-23 | Networks: What is a LAN? |
| 2016-09-23 | Networks: An example of a Network |
| 2016-09-23 | Networks: How computers talk |
| 2016-09-23 | Networks: The size of a Mac Address |
| 2016-09-23 | Networks: What is a WAN? |
| 2016-09-23 | Networks: What is a Mac Address? |
| 2016-09-23 | Networks: Collision Detection and Avoidance |
| 2016-06-23 | Deploy a Dynamic Website in Minutes |
| 2016-06-23 | Gmail Keyboard Shortcuts |
| 2016-03-27 | Web Design: Development vs Design |
| 2016-03-27 | Computer Basics: What does 'Open Source' mean? |
| 2015-09-23 | Computer Security Tips for Beginners |
| 2015-09-22 | FCC Computer Basics 11: IP Addresses |
| 2015-09-20 | Computer Basics 14: Content Delivery Networks |
| 2015-09-20 | The DOM: What's the Document Object Model? |
| 2015-09-20 | Big O Notation: A Few Examples |
| 2015-09-20 | The DOM: Style in the Header, Script in the Footer |
| 2015-09-20 | Big O Notation: What It Is and Why You Should Care |
| 2015-08-24 | Chrome Dev Tools: Summary Tab |
| 2015-08-24 | Chrome Dev Tools: Console Tab |
| 2015-08-24 | Chrome Dev Tools: Audits Tab |