What is open source?
Open source is software whose source code has been released for developers to share. Programmers from both commercial and non-profit organizations add to, modify, and improve the quality of the code base.
Open source can also refer to systems or software applications that are built using a higher-level language such as PHP or .NET and are then released for free public use. For example, content management systems allow less technical users to quickly build customized Web environments for an entity. “Look and feel” can be changed using simple html and style sheets.
Finally, open source sometimes refers to finished applications, such as Open Office, although most users simply use the finished application without modifying the code base.
