What is Open Source Software

OSS are computer programs in which the source code is made available to the general public for use and/or modification from its original design free of charge, i.e. open. Open source programs are typically created as a collaborative effort in which programmers offer the user a flexibility of use and share the changes within the community.

A certification standard is issued by the Open Source Initiative that indicates that the source code of a computer program is made available free of charge to the general publc. The rationale for this movement is that a larger group of programmers not concerned with proprietary ownership or financial gain will produce a more useful and bug free product for everyone to use. The concept relies on peer review to find and eliminate bugs in the program code, a process which commercially developed and packaged programmes do not utilize. Programmers on the Internet read, redistribute and modify the source code, forcing an expedient evolution of the product. The process of eliminating bugs and improving the software happens at a much quicker rate as the information is shared through the open source community

What is Open Source Software