As a programmer, open source is not a new thing to me. However, current Cloud technology has pushed the programming to open source a little bit more. Because of the ease of storing and transferring files online, many people choose to share their codes with the public. This not only benefits the community, but also help their own source get close to perfection.
For one reason, sharing and discussing the codes can help people learn more. Many blogs and websites enable the code download links of their products. This would help the beginners to study how programs are functioning. Like we reading books to develop writing skills, reading others' source code can improve programming skills. There are always many ways to achieve same goal, so finding an efficient way is very important for the programmers. It can reduce the calculating time, also reduce the chance of get bugs. I personally read others' code a lot, and I have learned a lot techniques. Only reading the tutorial books does not help the real situation too much. So open source is one of the necessary features of computer programming.
Another reason to open source is to allow the community to review the code for the owner. Usually, the first version of a program is not quite efficient, for example, the operating system, Linux. After the community reviewing the source code, many beta testers could give a lot of good suggestions. Some time they even provide the solutions. That's why Linux is always updating faster than the other two major OSs: Windows and Mac OS. People have different strengths, so it is really helpful to have more people to work on one product. Only in this way, the program can reach the better result.
However, open source is not always good. Some people steal others' codes easily, and modify it to their own. That is one of the reasones some programmers decide not to share the codes with others.
This is a great topic, it relates to the idea of information dissemination and the boost in equality, except here it works well. File sharing is a great way to work on a collective effort, or produce singular works that benefit individuals. Although stealing codes is a terrible and disrespectful act, sharing codes among users with mutual agreements does help technology move forward so that newer software and hardware can be made to benefit people in the long run. As we move into the future I wonder if this is how all software codes and practices will be, free for everyone to use regardless of whom they may be, all that is needed is to ask for the information to get started.
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