16 Jul 06 Closed Source vs. Open Source Software
This is a subject near and dear to my heart. I think that open source is a fabulous thing, but by no means is the only way. Some people say that having the source code open is an invitation to malicious code, data vandals and viruses. Those people only need to look at the largest closed operating system in use today (Windows) to see that protecting your secrets is no way to guarentee security. Just as an open source project has its code open for anyone to look at to find an exploit, it is also open that anyone can find that exploit and report it. Thankfully there are still more honest people in the world than dishonest people, at least when you are talking about software.
For those that argue that programmers should be able to control and profit from their software you only need to look at Linux Torvalds to see that open source can be a career enhancer. There is nothing preventing you from controlling or profiting from your code, open source is not mandatory. You may have to write more of your code from scratch if the libraries you want to reuse that were written by others are licensed to prevent you from using them in a closed manner, but that is just that libraries coder controlling and profiting (in getting to see and use what you do with his/her code as opposed to money) from it.
It is proven that you can profit from an open model. The SugarCRM customer relationship management software suite is an example of this. Available for all, but they will host it or customize it or support it for you… for a fee.
Open source allows for far more innovation in a community by establishing defined rules for sharing your work and research.
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