Closed source is a term invented as an antonym for open source and used to refer to any program whose licensing terms do not qualify as open source. Generally, it means that the customer will only get a binary and text files version of the computer program they licensed and no copy of the program's source code, rendering modifications to the software practically impossible from the technical side. The ''source code'' in this development model is regarded a trade secret of the company, so parties that may get source code access, such as colleges, have to sign non-disclosure agreements in advance. The term may also refer to programs whose source code is available, but under conditions that conflict with the Open Source Definition. Microsoft's "shared source" initative is the most prominent example of this. Much of academic and scientific programming is based on free interchange of source code, as scientists freely share materials and methods in order to replicate experiments. People like Richard Stallman were used to the open nature of this hacker culture, and it came as an unpleasant surprise when skilled programmers left academia to found their own companies and market their software, no longer giving their peers source code access. Stallman saw this a step backwards in terms of user (computing) freedom and founded the GNU project in the mid 1980s. His GNU General Public License allows licensees to pass along copies, including derived works, provided they include source code. It specifically prevents freely-developed code from ever being used in closed source software. Closed source still dominates commercial software development, but in the last few years through the success of a few open source projects like Linux, KDE, and Apache HTTP server, corporate thinking has undergone a minor transformation, with some corporations deciding that closed and open source projects can complement each other. One example is Sun Microsystems' move to develop their office suite, StarOffice, in parallel with its ''open source'' incarnation, OpenOffice.org. This is seen as a gain for corporate image and may be a good way to attract new talent. ==See also== *Free software *Non-proprietary software *Open source *Open source vs. closed source *Proprietary software *Richard Stallman Software
I think this history is a bit out. I thought open source was quite normal in the early days of computing and closed source came later. At the time it wasn't clear that copyright was applicable to computer software, and Bill Gates had some part in promoting the concept of packaged non-redistributable software. Didn't Stallman work with ITS, not Unix? == Revert == I reverted this article because an anonymous user removed a large amount of information and added a large number of irrelevant "see also"s to open-source related stuff. User:Rhobite 03:55, Nov 1, 2004 (UTC) == Subtle but important distinction == It is important to distinguish closed source from proprietary software. The existing text of this topic would fit better under proprietary. The writer assumes closed source is primarily distributed in binary form and that the source is not available. In looking at all the possible combinations of source availability and distribution methods, there is an important class of software that is best described as closed source. There is nothing that precludes releasing source code under specific licensing terms. These terms could be restrict or encourage redistribution of the source. In fact, it is likely that distribution of source code instead of binary artifacts is the most efficient and profitable. As a counter example is generative programming. Systems built with generative programming techniques may be written in languages for which no widely available compiler/interpreter exists. The source for these systems may be made available to users of the software to verify that the intent of the logic, within the context of the language, is correct. Such systems may not even use a language per se (e.g. natural language systems.) In any case, the tone of the existing text is distinctly open source vs. proprietary and does not make some important distinctions. I'll try to craft an alternate definition and post it for review.
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
Words begining with Closed_source:
Closed-source
Closed_source
Closed_source
Closed_source_movement
Closed_source_software
Closed source
Closed source is a term invented as an antonym for open source and used to refer to any program whose licensing terms do not qualify as open source. Generally, it means that the customer will only get a binary and text files version of the computer program they licensed and no copy of the program's source code, rendering modifications to the software practically impossible from the technical side. The ''source code'' in this development model is regarded a trade secret of the company, so parties that may get source code access, such as colleges, have to sign non-disclosure agreements in advance. The term may also refer to programs whose source code is available, but under conditions that conflict with the Open Source Definition. Microsoft's "shared source" initative is the most prominent example of this. Much of academic and scientific programming is based on free interchange of source code, as scientists freely share materials and methods in order to replicate experiments. People like Richard Stallman were used to the open nature of this hacker culture, and it came as an unpleasant surprise when skilled programmers left academia to found their own companies and market their software, no longer giving their peers source code access. Stallman saw this a step backwards in terms of user (computing) freedom and founded the GNU project in the mid 1980s. His GNU General Public License allows licensees to pass along copies, including derived works, provided they include source code. It specifically prevents freely-developed code from ever being used in closed source software. Closed source still dominates commercial software development, but in the last few years through the success of a few open source projects like Linux, KDE, and Apache HTTP server, corporate thinking has undergone a minor transformation, with some corporations deciding that closed and open source projects can complement each other. One example is Sun Microsystems' move to develop their office suite, StarOffice, in parallel with its ''open source'' incarnation, OpenOffice.org. This is seen as a gain for corporate image and may be a good way to attract new talent. ==See also== *Free software *Non-proprietary software *Open source *Open source vs. closed source *Proprietary software *Richard Stallman Software
Closed source
I think this history is a bit out. I thought open source was quite normal in the early days of computing and closed source came later. At the time it wasn't clear that copyright was applicable to computer software, and Bill Gates had some part in promoting the concept of packaged non-redistributable software. Didn't Stallman work with ITS, not Unix? == Revert == I reverted this article because an anonymous user removed a large amount of information and added a large number of irrelevant "see also"s to open-source related stuff. User:Rhobite 03:55, Nov 1, 2004 (UTC) == Subtle but important distinction == It is important to distinguish closed source from proprietary software. The existing text of this topic would fit better under proprietary. The writer assumes closed source is primarily distributed in binary form and that the source is not available. In looking at all the possible combinations of source availability and distribution methods, there is an important class of software that is best described as closed source. There is nothing that precludes releasing source code under specific licensing terms. These terms could be restrict or encourage redistribution of the source. In fact, it is likely that distribution of source code instead of binary artifacts is the most efficient and profitable. As a counter example is generative programming. Systems built with generative programming techniques may be written in languages for which no widely available compiler/interpreter exists. The source for these systems may be made available to users of the software to verify that the intent of the logic, within the context of the language, is correct. Such systems may not even use a language per se (e.g. natural language systems.) In any case, the tone of the existing text is distinctly open source vs. proprietary and does not make some important distinctions. I'll try to craft an alternate definition and post it for review.
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
C
CA | CB | CD | CE | CF | CG | CH | CI | CJ | CK | CL | CM | CN | CO | CP | CR | CS | CT | CU | CW | CX | CY | CZ |Words begining with Closed_source:
Closed-source
Closed_source
Closed_source
Closed_source_movement
Closed_source_software
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