Open Source Software Analysis: Programmers and Users Perspective

This report provides a comprehensive overview of open-source software, examining its advantages and disadvantages for both programmers and users. It highlights the benefits such as reduced costs, abundant support, easy licensing, integrated and quality management for programmers, and cost-effectiveness, better security, reliability, easy customization, and real-time learning for users. The report also addresses shortcomings, including hidden costs and vulnerability to malicious users for programmers, and difficulty in use, compatibility issues, and risks for users. Furthermore, it delves into the legal and ethical issues faced by both programmers and users, such as data breaches, hacking, and code leakage. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of open-source software for technical training and organizational growth, while advocating for systematic implementation, regular updates, and proper maintenance to mitigate its drawbacks. This analysis covers crucial aspects for a better understanding of open-source software and its implications.

Open source
software

INTRODUCTION
• Open source software is defined as the type of the computer software in
which authors release its source code and make it available for others in
order to view that code, copy the code, learn from the code, alter
accordingly and share it with others. It is coded under the license in which
copyright holders have access the permission the rights to use, study,
change and distribute the software with other people for any purpose. It is
developed in a collaborative public way. For examples, LibreOffice, Mozilla
Firefox, GIMP, VLC media player, Linux, Blender, Python and many more. The
following discussions are made on the benefits of open source software to
programmers and users, shortcomings to programmers and users and legal
and ethical issues of open source software from the view point of
programmers and users with proper findings and conclusion.

Benefits of open source software to programmers
• Less hardware and software cost
Programmers are benefitted due to the less cost they need to bear on their software and hardware configuration and setting up of it for the
coding and programming in a user friendly manner. If compared from other software, they save money in designing the software and earn more from
their customers.
• Abundant support
Programmers are benefitted with a good and large support while developing such software from everywhere from the organizations to the
users so that they can specify and enter those features in it in order to alter the code as per the needs and requirements of the user and that is why
they get high support.
• Easy licencing
Programmers are benefitted in easy, comfortable and feasible licencing of the software without any complications and time consuming
process. They are also need not to pay any amount for the open source software so therefore, its process is easy from planning, designing to
implementation of it.
• Integrated management
Programmers are benefitted because they are facing easiness in collective and integrated management while developing the software, this
makes them smooth going process to build the software for the people to learn and grow through that. That is why integrated management ensures
the merit of open source software to the programmers.
• Quality management
Programmers are benefitted as they can maintain the quality while coding out the program because at the time of licencing they can face
difficulty if they do not maintain any quality in their software so they try to keep total quality management in their open source software in order to
remain safe and secure.

Benefits of open source software to users
• Cost effective
Users are benefitted because wherever they find the open source software, they will find either in a very low price or in no price also which
totally depends on the type and quality of the software so that is why users can easy use such software in their professional as well as their personal
life also.
• Better security
Users are benefitted because the software which they using are secure and safe if it is regularly updated and maintained well by the
programmers or by them itself as well. Due to the licensing part, developers are required to make it secure so that it why it is secure from viruses and
hacking until it is frequently updated.
• Reliability and transparency
Users are benefitted as the open source software which are developed by the programmers are reliable and transparent in using in every type
of usage material which proves them to be relevant for effective and efficient utilization of it so that users can use it potentially in a user friendly
method.
• Easy customization
Users are benefitted because they find the easy alteration in coding systems so they can customise the software as per their needs and
requirements accordingly they can modify their features with easy setting up and installation method without any complications facing by them.
Therefore, customization is comfortable for the users who are using the software.
• Real time learning
Users are benefitted as they can deep learn the real time software’s code to better gain the proper knowledge and get refined and furnish in
programming so that they can be more educated in using such software in an organization or in their personal use also which accelerates the growth
and development of the people by learning through open source software.

Shortcomings of open source software faced by programmers
• Hidden cost
This is the disadvantage of an open source software to the programmers
because while development of the software, there are lots of cost which are
bear by the programmers and they are mainly hidden and small costs for
example majorly in initial cost, operating cost, installation cost and
compatibility cost.
• Vulnerable to malicious users
This is the disadvantage of an open source software to the programmers
because the software is available on the internet either in the low price or no
price so there are so many hackers present in the market which targets or
attacks such software to reach out to the people without any hindrances.

Shortcomings of open source software faced by users
• Difficulty in using
This is the disadvantage of an open source software to the users because it is less user friendly as
it is difficult to train people in using such software, high skilled people are required to work on the
software so that it can be used efficiently and could benefit the organization as well in professional life.
• Compatibility issues
This is the disadvantage of an open source software to the users because there are lots more
compatibility issues with hardware and operating systems because programming codes are less
compatible on every system, they are systems specific and need to installed their compatible devices in
the systems.
• Risky to use
This is the disadvantage of an open source software to the users that they download directly
from the internet either by paying or by free download, and direct download from the internet are not
wholly secure to make in use of them in the systems because some software carries viruses or hacking
attacks which proves risky to use.

Legal and ethical issues of open source software from the view point of programmers
• Programmers face legal and ethical issues such as due to the viruses,
hacking, data loss and leakage of the code. They licenced their
software in their personal name or in their organization name and if
any mistake or bugs are detected which is related to the legal and
ethical issues then they can get imprisoned and any one can case the
file against them without any mistake of them. Therefore, they need
to develop the software with a full securable manner so that it could
not affect the professional life of the programmers.

Legal and ethical issues of open source software from the view point of users
• Users face legal and ethical issues such as due to the viruses, hacking, data
loss and leakage of the information. They purchase the software from the
internet and they do not know the file is infected or corrupted or not.
They simply download and if the file is infected then it can affect the
system in which it is downloaded and can change the behaviour of the
systems and corrupt the systems as well and it can lead to the major data
breaches or losses for the user. Users must purchase the antivirus software
through which the user get timely notifications of the website the user has
appeared to is safe or not and whatever downloaded is secure for the
system or not and many other things also they needed to be take care of
while using the technical devices for proper safety and security.

CONCLUSION
• It is concluded that open source software’s are very important to the
programmers and users as well for better training and learning in a real time
technical fields and an organization also. Although there are demerits also
but it can be overcome if execution and implementation done of the
software is in a systematic manner with regular updates and proper
maintenance. Therefore, it is essential to analyse the benefits of the open
source software to programmers and the users, it is necessary to examine
the shortcomings of open source software to programmers and users and it
is significant to determine the legal and ethical issues of open source
software from the view point of programmers and users. Hence, this
presentation covers all such areas which are crucial to better understand the
concept of open source software.