The Open Source Farmer’s Market
Software distribution has become big business. Microsoft, for example, is one of the largest companies in the world. Food distribution is also a big business, and it has giants as well, Tyson and General Mills. But this is not the only way to do it. Open Source is a network of people working together to develop and distribute software. It is an unusual network because its center has little control over its periphery. Farmer’s markets usually meet every week in a central place, yet this place does not have control over the farmers.
The development of proprietary software is kept secret. Sometimes the source code is guarded heavily so the developer can stay one version ahead of its competitors. These competitors are in the same race to release software on time and meet public expectations. By comparison, Open Source development is a more complex way of making software. An original author writes and distributes the code itself under a special license so that many other programmers read through and run it. They can also modify the original code and make improvements. When they have finished with their own modifications, they may either redistribute it or tell the original author about it. This helps the author find mistakes and improve the quality and efficiency of the code because it has had such various and prolific input. Fresh food from a farmer’s market has been grown by the people who are selling it to you. In a supermarket you can only read labels and hope that the food is ok, but at the market you can ask questions, sample the proce, and tell the farmer how the apples worked with your mom’s pie recipe.
When proprietary software is distributed, it is in binary form. The binary form of a program is only readable by a computer. If a programmer were to examine binary, it would make absolutely no sense. In binary form it is nearly impossible to make any changes to a program. Even with the advanced tools used to reverse engineer binary, it is still not worth the effort. Open Source software, however, is licensed in a variety of ways. But all of the licenses pursue the same goal–free software. “Open Source” is usually considered to mean “free.” But in English, “free” implies “no price” rather than “no restrictions.” To understand, think “free as in freedom, not as in beer.” There are too many different forms of licenses to list, but they all accomplish the same thing: software with minimal restrictions. There is no place to get free food (or beer), not in a supermarket, not in a farmer’s market. But food from a market comes with no restrictions. It is in its purest form, waiting to be used.
Software companies use their binary distribution to control access to the software and keep anyone from modifying it. Their software is licensed so that the program cannot be used in any way the company does not specify. Because of this license, only the company who made a program can distribute, improve, or copy it. In contrast, Open Source software is distributed either as a binary with the source code included, or just the source code. If there is no binary, then the user must compile (turn into binary) the program himself. Every user may compile his own binary and have a slightly different version of the program, each version optimized for the system it was compiled on. Even if the user would like to rewrite the whole program for his own needs and then distribute it again, it is legal. All Open Source distributions must have their source code available, so that if there is a flaw to be corrected or a customization to be made, it can be made easily and legally.
In a supermarket everything is packaged. When food is packaged, it becomes like a binary distribution and takes all of its flaws into the package. It is inflexible and, when heated, still has the same flaws. These flaws cannot be corrected by buying a package marked “fresh,” or even by switching to a different brand. They can, however, be corrected by going to a local farmer’s market. The market is full of possibilities and is flexible and transparent. You can pick out the produce you want, go home, and make your own dish better than anything from a package.
