Why developers prefer to build on open source platforms?
Tags: beginners, opensource, devjournal, devops
Published: 2022-08-27 13:19:56

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title: Why developers prefer to build on open source platforms?
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canonical_url: https://makendran.hashnode.dev/why-developers-prefer-to-build-on-open-source-platforms
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In open source development, the source code is freely available under an open source license. It can be studied, redistributed, modified according to the needs of the user under the terms of the open source license. The code is open source, accessible and shared with anyone, so many people have joined hands, their thoughts, their ideas to improve it.

The source code is accessible to everyone so everyone can modify, improve, and work collaboratively to build better code. Open source code is usually stored in public repositories and then shared. As mentioned, it comes with licensing terms. Some of the open source licenses are:

- MIT License 
- GNU General Public License (GPL) 2.0 
- License Apache2.0 
- GNU General Public License (GPL) 3.0 
- License BSD 2.0

Software whose source code is written and controlled by one person, group, or organization is called a **proprietary software system**. In a proprietary software system, the source code is not available to anyone like open source, it is only available to a certain person, group of people or a certain company. Hence, it is called **closed source**.

## Why do people make open source software?

There are many practical reasons why people choose to develop open source software. The `open source community is active`, which is why open source software benefits from peer review. **Code is regularly reviewed, reviewed, and improved by a community of peers**.

Developers also prefer open source software for practical reasons. `Open source software is free`. Another reason developers love open source is `transparency`. Many developers want to know exactly what is going on with their data. Open source software `exposes everything so you can see exactly what's going on behind the scenes`.

Developers also benefit from the reliability of open source software. Open source provides a great solution for developers who don't want to be prevented from being the only identifier for software modifications and additions.

Open source software is much more `flexible` than traditional closed source software. Software requirements vary by industry and market, and certain products often do not meet the needs of a particular company or organization. The flexibility of open source means you can take a platform that's already been built for you and adapt it to your specific needs.

Ultimately, developers create open source software. Because we believe in what it means: an open, collaborative effort to break down barriers to create something that benefits the public.

## Why developers prefer to build on open source platforms?

Many developers prefer to develop on open source platforms. It provide an wide library of customizations and plugins created by other developers. It also has the specific benefit of not having to do all the tedious work yourself, and not being disturbed by potential vendor or private API failures.

In addition, open source is more rewarding for many developers from a collaborative perspective. An active community of developers, all working together on a project, means that developers can always find resources, support, and new perspectives that reach far beyond a single company or industry. Developers recognize the value of progress and community contributions and are often proud to embrace an open source philosophy for these reasons.

## Why is open source good?

Open source often creates a **collaborative environment** across borders and barriers, hampering progress and innovation. This offers the advantage that a huge community of passionate developers and engineers are working towards a common goal.

You can imagine how science is organized. Science and everything it touches would not be as it is today without the participation and cooperation of a global community of like-minded people. Open source benefits from the same openness and sense of community.

## Why is open source important?

It's easy to argue that many of the technologies we have today wouldn't be possible without open source software. It is the basis of many products you use every day. Open source software opens up a community of passionate developers to bring together and collaborate to drive innovation to create better technologies and solutions, from smartphones to the Internet itself.

## Benefits of open source

People choose open source over proprietary software for the following reasons:

### Control

- The reason many people prefer open source is because they control the open source software. 
- They can change what they don't like to do and they can also update any part they don't like in the system. 
- Non-coders can also benefit from using it for their purposes without generating code by following the terms of the open source license.

### Training and knowledge

- Open source helps people to learn and excel in their skills as it is publicly available to everyone including students, freshmen or any professionals for example. 
- They can study, learn and help improve it. 
- Anyone can share their work, provide comments and reviews. 
- You can even provide and improve other people's software system bugs, bugs, and problems and help them become a better program and produce better software quality.

### Guard

- Some people find it secure because there is no exclusive control over it. 
- Moreover, anyone can view, modify, correct if there is a mistake or if the original author forgot something in the system. 
- Many programmers from all over the world can work in the same open source software and they don't need permission to change, fix bugs, errors, problems and can upgrade the source code faster than proprietary software.

### Stable

- For long term use, many people prefer open source software over proprietary software. 
- Since the source code is publicly available to everyone and even the original author/creator does not upgrade or make changes to the system in the future, you will have control to modify it. 
- In addition, another community contributor who is not the original author can edit it and stay up to date with the latest trends and technologies. So anyone can get a stable and up-to-date software system at any time.

### Community

- Open source is a community of developers and users around the world. 
- It motivates and inspires users and developers to learn and collaborate to create better software. Community members, users, developers are the backbone of open source software who build, test, and promote. 
- They have had a huge impact on the development of the open source software they love.

## What is Open Source Development?

Open source development specifically refers to applications and software created in an open and collaborative manner. It is an alternative to software created by companies or individuals with closed source, or proprietary software.

This puts the development and advancement of software, whether a website or an operating system, in the hands of the community at large and not of an individual company. Instead of a closed feedback loop, open source provides a way for a large community to contribute to software development through collaboration, peer review, open discussion, and outside perspectives that if no there won't be.

## How does open source development work?

Open source development is **collaborative**. While application binaries and source code are freely distributed as open source, the core codebase is maintained by an individual or a group of individuals. This is usually done through versioning.

**Versioning** is the act of maintaining and repeating source code for the benefit of collaborative development efforts. A central repository used by open source contributors - for example, GitHub - to upload and maintain source code. When a developer contributes code, it is uploaded to the main code base, where it is tested before being merged into the main source code.

Private software development typically uses the same version control method. The difference is that in open source, developers benefit from the contributions of far more developers.

## What is an open source development model?

In the open source development model, the application or product is developed and the source code is released with the appropriate open source license. Open source software can start from existing software or develop from scratch. Once the source code is released, other developers can work on fixing bugs and enhancing features of the original build. As the source code evolves, the code is incorporated into the project and the project grows.

Developers may also use the software as the basis for their own solutions. If the projects differ significantly from each other, they may eventually evolve into their own dedicated projects that deviate from the original software's purpose and vision. The original source code also benefits from the fork, as much of the same code can be easily ported to the original project or other projects grown from it.

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