Open Source code and Microsoft?
Open-source programming embraces a philosophy that states programmers should make their code available to everyone rather than keeping it proprietary. The Linux operating system has had much success as an open source code. The chapter mentions some of the advantages of open source code, such as quicker code updates in response to technological advances and changes.
based on this paragraph i had to answer some questions for my assignment but i didnt get 2 questions they were:
Why do you think that companies such as Microsoft maintain proprietary restrictions on their code?
and
Are there disadvantages to maintaining proprietary code?
can someone explain this to me?
Tagged with: code updates • Linux • linux operating system • Microsoft • open source code • open source programming • paragraph • philosophy • programmers • proprietary code • technological advances
Filed under: Open Source
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Microsoft is a "for-profit" organization. Open Source is about allowing ANY body share their code; Microsoft pays programmers that they specifically hire.
Just ask yourself if YOU were hired by Microsoft, would YOU want to work for free like the open source volunteer programmers do? Or would you like a salary so you can pay your rent, pay for food and clothing, etc?
Microsoft doesn’t want to make their code generally available because their primary focus is on making money from it. To bring in something extraneous, Microsoft, Lotus and other companies were the first generation where closed-source proprietary software was POSSIBLE. The Open Source movement was started, in essence, by CONSERVATIVES who were USED to doing it this way because that was how you had to before you had standard computer constructions. Most customers could afford programmers to recompile commercial software on their computers and just bought the source code. This is EXACTLY what Open Source is about, proprietary geeks to the contrary.
There is a disadvantage to proprietary code, best defined by the old saying: "Many eyes make all bugs shallow". In other words it is harder to maintain proprietary software because first you have to find people who can do it then you have to find people who can do it who will sign a non-disclosure agreement. Worse, and this is actually illustrated by Windows, in a proprietary situation some people who access parts of the code don’t have access to it. From a corporate security standpoint this makes sense. From a technical standpoint? No. Linux and UNIX are modular Operating Systems and many versions of both share programs such as the GNU Tools which are maintained by separate groups. Nevertheless both of them are often faster and efficient than Windows because the people who write kernels have access to their code and the people who write the GNU Tools have access to among others the Linux and Darwin kernels.
As to your first question, Microsoft probably maintains proprietary restrictions on their code in order to continue making money from this code. They also do not want other companies to have a competitive advantage over them if these companies got their hands on the proprietary code.
Disadvantages to proprietary code I would think are that: Only employees at Microsoft can improve upon it. The rate at which proprietary software improves is probably much slower than open source software. If a company shuts down the proprietary code is probably lost and no one can make use of it.