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Open Source: Beneficial to Both Developers and Users

Open source means practices in software product development by a group of volunteers who work together in a highly collaborative way. There are some steps involved in the open source software development process. Let’s learn how open source is beneficial to users and developers:

Software created by open source volunteers differs from commercial software sold by vendors in many ways. The key difference is that open source software is released under certain licenses that enable users to download, inspect and modify the source code for their own benefits freely. Some open source softwares have some added provisions concerning rights of the original developer, rights to use it for any purpose and derivative works.

How Open Source Projects Benefit Developers?  

For developers, open source has many advantages. Developers who have a successful online software development project to their name enjoy many benefits in the form or recognition and fame. They even have the opportunity to earn money through consulting or through various other sources.

Most developers see open source as problem-solving tools and also see them as a continuous learning process. But, for some it is a software development methodology that has many collaborative benefits.

How Open Source Software Benefit Users?

Users who have downloaded open source software have many benefits including freedom to use the program for their own purpose as well as choice. There are number of open source programs like OpenOffice.org that are to download and can be used by anybody.

For software and development experts, relying on pricier programs can make their projects costly. There are many such open source projects that help them create bespoke software without spending funds on costly commercial software. Some users also use their skills to modify the source code of the software to suit their development process.  

The best part of open source software is that it does not cost money. However, some projects may charge subscription money, or may encourage you to upgrade to premium versions.


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