Open-source software is a form of computer software in which the copyright holder grant general public the right to use, change, study, and allocate software to anybody for any purpose. Its policy is publically available.
Some software has source code that only the team, organization or person who formed it have unprecedented control over it to alter. This kind of software is called closed source software or proprietary. Only the creative author of proprietary software can lawfully copy, review and modify that software.
To use the closed source software, the PC users necessitate agreeing that they will not do anything with the software as the author has not allowed. The Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Office are examples of proprietary software.
Open-source software is different from closed source software. The creator of this software makes its source code available to the general public that anyone can copy, study, modify and share it. The GNU General Public License, Apache License, MIT License, Mozilla Public License are some examples of open-source software.
Like proprietary software, the users of open source software also need to accept the terms and conditions of software. Still, these legal terms are dramatically differenced from those of proprietary license. It grants permission to the general public to use software for any purpose they wish.
The open-source software is equally important for computer programmers and non-programmers. Anyone using the facility of the internet can benefit from open-source software like Apache Web server application and the Linux operating system.
Every time a PC user check emails, view web pages, play multiple video games, stream music online, chat with friends on computers linked to a universal network of computers; using the open-source software for routing and spreading their data to local devices they have in front of them.
The public all over the world favours open-source software for several reasons. The reasons include control, security, affordability, transparency, flexibility, stability, training and community. That kind of software allowed the users to have full control over it—the significant number of computer programmers across the world use open source software to become better programmers.