What is open source software

Posted Date: 21-Jun-2011	Category: Others	Rating:
Author: Faizan Ahmad	Member Level: Silver	Points: 10

Many of us don't know about the types and kinds of software. In this article I have given information about types of software that is, system software and application software and what is open source software.

In general terms a software is divided into two parts; System software and Application Software.
• System Software
It is used to operate the computer systematically and to control different component of the computer. We use different operating systems in our computers like Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows Vita, etc. These come under the category of system software.

• Application Software
Application software on the other hand is used to do any work. Various application software are developed for computers to perform special tasks. Software installed in our computer like media player, Microsoft word, spreadsheet software, computer games, etc are example of application software.

Open source Software

When any new software is developed and released in the market then the source code of that software is not given to the customer. Source code of that software is kept secret by the developer, so that there is no chance of manipulation in the software. It is also known as closed source software. Open source software as the name suggest its source code (programing code) is not kept secret rather it is available for everyone. Anyone can add new features by changing the source code of that software to make the software more useful.

Such type of software can be re-distributed many times. Source code is available on the internet for free of cost. Software developed on the basis of open source has attracted large number of users. Linux is a good example of open source operating system. Its source code is available for free. PHP is also developed on the basis of open source, which is used by students and professionals.

You can download it from www.php.net. If you want to work on office suit other than Microsoft Office then you can download open office suit. You can work related to word processing, spreadsheet, database, presentation, etc. you can download it from www.openoffice,org.

System Requirement

There is no special system requirement for installing any open source software. You just require the same system as for any other software. You can use windows operating systems like windows xp, vista, windows 7 or any other window.

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