An Introduction to Open Source
Open source software is one of the hottest topics in the computer world these days. I’ll be talking about it quite a bit so I thought it might be a good idea to let you know just what it is. Before you can understand "open source", you first need to know what "source" is. . .
In computer programming there are two kinds of code – source code and object code. Source code is the program written in one of the programming languages (C, fortran, pascal, basic, etc.). If you understand the programming language, you can read and edit the source code yourself. Computers do not understand these programming languages. All they understand is 1s and 0s (binary). Before a computer can run a program, the source code must be compiled into object code.
When you buy a software application, you are buying the compiled object code. The company that made the software doesn’t want you looking at, copying or making changes to the program logic so the source code is kept in a tightly controlled environment. That’s the way the software industry has been doing business for years, but now there’s a new kid in town and he’s really shaking things up!
Calling the open source movement a "new kid" is an exageration. Open source has been around for about twenty years, but the concept has gained a lot of momentum in the last few years. According to the Open Source Initiative:
The basic idea behind open source is very simple:
When programmers can read, redistribute, and modify
the source code for a piece of software, the software evolves.
People improve it, people adapt it, people fix bugs. And this can
happen at a speed that, if one is used to the slow pace of
conventional software development, seems astonishing.
You may hear people talk about open source software as free software. Because the source code is open and available to anyone, it is free (as in free speech). One of the key principles in the open source movement is to provide a free (as in no charge) version of each product developed. Does that mean there won’t be a cost for that program? Not necessarily. The free version does not come with many of the things you take for granted in an application – help files, user manuals and technical support. If you want those, you’ll pay for them. Even then, your costs will be significantly lower that commercial software performing the same functions.
There are many outstanding products in the open source arena – many of them useful to the family historian. I’ve already mentioned one of my favorites – the Thunderbird email client – and we will discuss more. These programs give you more choices and the opportunity to decide where best to invest your genealogy budget. Personally, I’d rather spend my money on a trip to my ancestors home in Tennessee than buying a copy of Microsoft Office!
For more information on the open source movement, visit these sites:
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