For those who entered the IT industry in the late 2000s, open source software is part of the norm. For them, there isn’t a time when open source software was not free and available to everyone, and permeating through almost every facet of technology.
But those who have been with open source from the beginning know that such was not always the case. As open source stands at the brink of technological breakthroughs, we remember its past and look forward to its promising future.
Humble Beginnings
It’s unclear exactly when open sourcing truly began, but many would agree that it started way back in the ‘80s when software was free by default and sharing of code was widespread. It was during this time that Richard Stallman emerged and founded the free software movement, which brought the concept of open source out into the world and gave it the firm foundation on which it now stands. The movement saw the creation of the GNU Project and Free Software Foundation, but it was a struggle. Open source remained at the sidelines for most of this time, as proprietary software reigned supreme. For Stallman and his peers, establishing free and open source software was a moral crusade, and an uphill battle.
Growing Pains
By the 1990s to 2000s a new kind of movement emerged. Linus Torvalds created the Linux kernel and because of it, more people were able to use open source operating systems and improve them to a level that was competitive with proprietary platforms.
Unlike the programmers of Stallman’s time, Torvalds and his peers’ primary motivations for moving open source forward were not moral but functional. They viewed it as the more efficient way to code, and way less expensive than its proprietary counterparts. Despite this industry-aligned motivation and the developments that arose from it, open sourcing was still a much debated issue. Many a programmer had to battle with giants like Microsoft for using open source software.
Open Source Today
Fast forward to today and we can clearly see that open source is no longer an issue, it’s the norm. In fact, it’s steadily making its way into practically every area of technology, even creating job opportunities that were once non-existent. Its value is no longer questioned, it is widely known and embraced. It’s not just created by individuals sitting at the sidelines anymore, it’s created by large corporations too. And with plenty of developments still on the way, there’s no doubt that the scope and significance of open source can only increase.
The Future of Open Source
As of late, big corporations Yahoo, IBM, Facebook and even Microsoft have slowly but surely gone the open source route. These companies have each announced open source projects and plans, with a big chance of more to follow. There’s also been news of open source making its way into the Internet of Things courtesy of the Linux Foundation.
With the strides it’s been making, it seems clear that open source is headed somewhere good. And wherever this future may lead, you can be sure that SourceForge will be there to support all those who keep open source software thriving and evolving.