Open Source – Collaborative Innovation

The term Open Source (OS) was coined, as implied, to represent a software code that is usually distributed in the form of a high level programming language – in contrast to machine, compiled, code – and is freely copied, redistributed as well as modifiable by users at no cost. This description differentiates OS software from Freeware software that can be freely copied/downloaded from the web for personal use but is distributed as (binary) executable machine code and most commonly restricted to personal use only. It also differs from public domain software that is available to the public and is uncontrolled. In this paper I review the history of OS, discuss its prerequisites, analyze the profile of an OS contributor and present some examples. Then I discuss the phases of OS development as well as legal aspects followed by a discussion of business and economical aspects. Lastly I conclude with current and future trends of the field