by Open-Source Software
It all started with Richard Stallman who developed the GNU project in 1983 which fueled the free software movement which eventually led to the revolutionary open-source software movement.
The movement catapulted the notion of open-source collaboration under which developers and programmers voluntarily agreed to share their source code openly without any restrictions.
The community of people working with the software would allow anyone to study and modify the open-source code for any purpose they want. The open-source movement broke all the barriers between the developers/programmers and the software vendors encouraging everyone to open collaboration. Finally, the label “open-source software” was made official at a strategy session in Palo Alto, California in 1998 to encourage the worldwide acceptance of this new term which itself is reminiscent of the academic freedom.
The idea is to release the software under the open licenses category so that anyone could see, modify, and distribute the source code as deemed necessary.
It’s a certification mark owned by the Open Source Initiative (OSI). The term open source software refers to the software that is developed and tested through open collaboration meaning anyone with the required academic knowledge can access the source code, modify it, and distribute his own version of the updated code.
Any software under the open source license is intended to be shared openly among users and redistributed by others as long as the distribution terms are compliant with the OSI’s open source definition. Programmers with access to a program’s source code are allowed to manipulate parts of code by adding or modifying features that would not have worked otherwise.
Proprietary software
The term “Proprietary software” refers to the category of software that is protected by copyright laws and must be licensed before it can be used. Most of the time, you have to pay for proprietary software. That is, you will have to pay for its license before you are allowed to use it.
The purpose of proprietary software is not to facilitate any form of cooperative effort. It is developed purely for the purpose of being utilised by the developer as well as any other users who have purchased a license to do so. The access to proprietary software is restricted, in contrast to the open nature of Open Source software. It is only accessible to those who own it and those who were responsible for its development.
The adaptability of the design is also an important aspect to consider. The degree of adaptability offered by proprietary software is significantly lower than that of open-source software. There are limitations placed on how it can be utilised. Copyright protection is applied to proprietary software. In other words, whoever initially created the source code is the owner of any intellectual property rights associated with it.
Due to the fact that it is copyrighted, this software has a limited degree of adaptability. On the other hand, anyone, regardless of their level of expertise, can use proprietary software. This software is not intended for use by the general public, but rather by a select number of individuals who have purchased the rights to use it and who are the sole owners of the source code.
Proprietary software list:
- Windows
- Microsoft
- macOS
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe Flash Player
- iTunes
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Open-Source Software |
Proprietary Software |
| Open-source software is computer software whose source code is available openly on the internet and programmers can modify it to add new features and capabilities without any cost. | Proprietary software is computer software where the source codes are publicly not available only the company which has created can modify it. |
| Here the software is developed and tested through open collaboration. | Here the software is developed and tested by the individual or organization by which it is owned not by the public. |
| Open-source software can be installed on any computer. | Proprietary software can be installed into any computer without a valid license. |
| Users do not need to have any authenticated license to use this software. | Users need to have a valid and authenticated license to use this software. |
| Open-source software is managed by an open-source community of developers. | Proprietary software is managed by a closed team of individuals or groups that developed it. |
| It is more flexible and provides more freedom which encourages innovation. | It is not much flexible so there is a very limited innovation scope with the restrictions. |
| Users can get open software free of charge. | Users must have to pay to get the proprietary software. |
| Limited Intellectual Property Protections | Full Intellectual Property Protections |
| Usually Developed and Maintained by non-profit organizations. | Usually Developed and Maintained by for-profit entities. |
| Examples are Android, Linux, Firefox, Open Office, GIMP, VLC Media player, etc. | Examples are Windows, macOS, Internet Explorer, Google Earth, Microsoft Office, Adobe Flash Player, Skype, etc. |
| In open-source software the source code is public. | In proprietary software, the source code is protected. |
| In open-source software faster fixes of bugs and better security are availed due to the community. | In proprietary software, the vendor is completely responsible for fixing malfunctions. |
