 |
 |
GiantByte Software believes in using open source tools where possible, because there
are many modern enterprise-level choices, they're free, and completely extensible
/ customizable.
The use of open source tools doesn't mean that YOUR code will be shared with anyone; just because your project is built using open source tools doesn't give anyone else access to YOUR code. Using an open source tool just means that you can use, or modify the tool in any way you like, for free. You'd also be able to take your finished product to any other solution provider in the world for future maintenance or expansion, without worrying about code ownership or licensing.
Open source software is effectively a category of tools that are "in the public domain" for all intents and purposes. They're free, and tend to be better-supported, documented and debugged than many of their closed-source, proprietary counterparts.
Proprietary software manufacturers must now face open source software as a threat to their very business model. Whereas a corporation must consider how a new feature (or bug-fix) would translate into profit for the shareholders, "some guy" in "Denmark" pulls an all-nighter, and the next day a new feature or tool is suddenly available to the world of open source developers for free. In this way, many open source tools now out-perform their expensive proprietary competition, despite being completely free. Anyone who tells you "you get what you pay for" or "there's no free lunch" has obviously never heard of PhP or MySQL (although these are both fairly light-weight tools within the realm of open source products).
Open source software is no longer just a series of obscure fringe products, seeking recognition and credibility within the mainstream; now open source tools like Apache, Linux, PostgreSQL, Django, Quixote, Zope, PHP and MySQL are becoming industry leaders within the mainstream of enterprise-caliber production software.
These tools allow software developers to deliver high-caliber, high-capacity solutions that rival the value of expensive proprietary products, but without ANY licensing fees at all.
The use of open source tools doesn't mean that YOUR code will be shared with anyone; just because your project is built using open source tools doesn't give anyone else access to YOUR code. Using an open source tool just means that you can use, or modify the tool in any way you like, for free. You'd also be able to take your finished product to any other solution provider in the world for future maintenance or expansion, without worrying about code ownership or licensing.
Open source software is effectively a category of tools that are "in the public domain" for all intents and purposes. They're free, and tend to be better-supported, documented and debugged than many of their closed-source, proprietary counterparts.
Proprietary software manufacturers must now face open source software as a threat to their very business model. Whereas a corporation must consider how a new feature (or bug-fix) would translate into profit for the shareholders, "some guy" in "Denmark" pulls an all-nighter, and the next day a new feature or tool is suddenly available to the world of open source developers for free. In this way, many open source tools now out-perform their expensive proprietary competition, despite being completely free. Anyone who tells you "you get what you pay for" or "there's no free lunch" has obviously never heard of PhP or MySQL (although these are both fairly light-weight tools within the realm of open source products).
Open source software is no longer just a series of obscure fringe products, seeking recognition and credibility within the mainstream; now open source tools like Apache, Linux, PostgreSQL, Django, Quixote, Zope, PHP and MySQL are becoming industry leaders within the mainstream of enterprise-caliber production software.
These tools allow software developers to deliver high-caliber, high-capacity solutions that rival the value of expensive proprietary products, but without ANY licensing fees at all.