= Open source software
{tag=Good}
{wiki}
= Open source
{synonym}
= Open sourced
{synonym}
What happens when https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenCL[the underdogs] get https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1780599/what-is-the-meaning-of-posix/31865755#31865755[together] and try to factor out their efforts to beat some https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CUDA[evil] dominant <Microsoft Windows>[power], sometimes <Linux>[victoriously].
Or when https://github.com/facebook[startups] use the cheapest stuff available and randomly become the https://github.com/google[next big thing], and decide to keep maintaining the open stuff to get features for free from other companies, or because they are <Linux>[forced by the Holy GPL].
Open source frees employees. When you change jobs, a large part of the specific knowledge you acquired about closed source a project with your blood and tears goes to the trash. When companies get bought, projects get shut down, and closed source code goes to the trash. What sane non desperate person would sell their life energy into such closed source projects that could die at any moment? Working on open source is the single most important non money perk a company can have to attract the best employees.
Open source is worth more than the mere pragmatic financial value of not having to pay for software or the ability to freely add new features.
Its greatest value is perhaps the fact that it allows people study it, to appreciate the beauty of the code, and feel empowered by being able to add the features that they want.
That is why <Ciro Santilli> thought:
> Life is too short for closed source.
But quoting Ciro's colleague S.:
> Every software is open source when you read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assembly_language[assembly code].
And https://computergraphics.stackexchange.com/questions/7809/what-does-gpu-assembly-look-like["can <reverse engineering>[reverse engineer] the undocumented GPU hardware APIs"], <Ciro Santilli>[Ciro] would add.
While software is the most developed open source technology available in the 2010's, due to the https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/6/24/18715421/internet-free-data-ads-cost["zero cost"] of copying it over the Internet, Ciro also believes that <open knowledge>[the world would benefit enormously from open source knowledge in all areas on science and engineering], for the same reasons as open source.
Back to article page