The Benefits of Open Source Technology

Open source is a form of software and web development that utilizes free, openly available software. It was born from a desire and need by some developers to create software that can be easily accessed and shared free by anyone wanting to use the platform. It also allows developers to freely modify and improve the software over time. Some examples of Open Source software include Linux, Hadoop, MySQL, Mozilla, Ubuntu, Android, Python, Drupal, OpenOffice and WordPress, to name a few. Its greatest advantage is that developers in its communities can modify and share the software since the framework is free. Open source delivers a wide array of benefits and features, driven by a group of developers who want to see the platform thrive.

What are some of the benefits of utilizing Open Source technology for application or web developments?

Security

Because the development platforms are “open”, developers can continuously update and modify the platform and fill new security gaps that would-be hackers might otherwise exploit.

Continuous Improvement

Just as a writer might rewrite a page of his/her book several times over to ensure the best reading experience, Open Source developers will continually modify and improve software. WordPress is a good example of this. If you’ve ever developed a WordPress website, then you know that software updates from different third-party providers are arriving at your dashboard on a continuous basis. Unlike a major corporation that might only release “new” a version of its software once or twice a year, Open Source is continually under the microscope of the development community, and thus, continually being improved upon. When you are logging into your WordPress administrator panel, you might see numerous “updates” that the development community is asking you to update, something the community provides for the benefit of all.

Cost

When considering the development of a software solution, you must weigh the advantages of both “Open Source” vs other popular frameworks, such as Microsoft.NET or C++. Some platforms require licensing fees, while many of the open source frameworks have little or no costs. There are many solid cost cutting reasons to use open source frameworks, but there are also some disadvantages. When a community of developers stops supporting a framework, driven mostly by a newer better open framework, the ability to support and maintain your application can quickly change, from being continually up to date and current, to suddenly no longer being able to maintain itself as other technologies change. Open source frameworks that were once very popular, such as Python, are waning, forcing developers to drag their company’s source code into a framework, which can be very costly. So, yes, the framework might be free to develop on, but there’s a solid argument for staying with the large pay-to-play frameworks.

Mainstream open source has roots dating back to the late 1990’s and is going strong. Pay frameworks like Microsoft have also been going strong since the early 2000’s. Whatever choice you make is developing software, make sure you run the numbers and understand the open, and hidden, costs, of running Open Source platforms. Platforms like Apache, WordPress and PHP are going strong, while others have gone to their source code grave.

To learn more, contact WebStar and speak to a project consultant or representative.