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Open Source Software refers to free applications provided under specific licensing terms where the source code is accessible and able to be edited..

Open Source software includes a very wide range of applications, from hobbyist applications  to full strength enterprise ecommerce platforms. It's quite likely even the operating system of the server your site is hosted on is powered by Open Source products.

A couple of well known examples of Open Source software are OSCommerce, a shopping cart, and FreeBSD, a server operating system.

Open Source software principles

Information on the guiding principles of Open Source software can be viewed on the Open Source Initiative (OSI) site. Licensing usually falls under two different types - the GNU GPL and the GNU LGPL. The LGPL  has more restrictions on use and redistribution. 

Open Source advantages

Open Source applications have provided the base of many incredibly successful businesses. Some of the advantages include:

Free software

If you're just starting out in online business, working capital can be scarce and Open Source software can dramatically reduce your startup costs. A side effect of the Open Source community is that it has also helped reduce prices on commercial software over the years.

Evolving applications

Some Open Source software projects can have hundreds of programmers involved which helps in the rapid development of new features and bug fixes. These communities also provide a massive knowledge base for using, tweaking and troubleshooting the products.

Encourages learning

Open Source software encourages you to go beyond the user interface and mess around in the code; applying modifications (mods) and other edits to suit your own needs.

Not locked into vendors

Using commercial application can make you reliant on a single company to maintain and edit the application for you, which can get rather pricey over time. Often when you buy a commercial product, support will only be included for a set length of time, after which you'll need to renew your license. Also, if the vendor goes broke, they might just disappear; leaving you high and dry; whereas popular Open Source applications have a life of their own with programmers coming and going but a core community remaining; keeping the project alive.

Disadvantages of Open Source

There's no such thing as a free lunch and this also applies to Open Source software; particularly if you don't want any part of editing or programming an application.

Projects can die

Just as with commercial applications, some Open Source projects do die; usually the smaller ones, so you may be stuck with an application you can't upgrade yourself and requiring programmers to do customizations.

Support issues

When you buy commercial software, the vendor is usually committed to supporting you; but in the case of Open Source software, you're relying on the goodwill of others to help you troubleshoot. 

New features

What you may consider is a great feature for the product may not be shared by the application's programming community and even if it is accepted, it can be a very long time until it's implemented.

Choosing a product

If you do decide that Open Source software is the path you'd like to take, bear the following questions in mind when selecting an application.

• Does the software have a solid history?

• Are regular updates and fixes provided?

• Is the community around the application active?

• Is the community newbie-friendly?

• Are there well known companies using the software?

• Is there enough coherent documentation with the software?

• Are there programmers for hire at reasonable rates if you should get stuck?

When considering whether to use Open Source software, remember that the concept of "free" is related to freedom more than to dollars. Although Open Source applications can be a great alternative; if you're someone who needs phone support or personalized email assistance - you may be better off financially in the long run buying a commercial software package.

Tags: blog software, business software, forum software, open source software, shopping cart software