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Open source is software with source code that is publicly available for anyone to use, modify, and distribute under specific licensing terms. This model encourages collaboration from a global community of developers to contribute, fix bugs, and create new features, often resulting in faster development and more resilient products. Examples include operating systems like Linux and web development tools like Kubernetes.

Key characteristics

Publicly available source code: The source code is accessible for anyone to view, study, and run.

Freedom to modify and share: Users can make changes to the code and redistribute their versions.

Collaborative development: The open-source model fosters a community where many developers can contribute to a project's growth and improvement.

Licensing: While the source code is freely available, the terms of the specific open-source license dictate how it can be used, modified, and redistributed.

Permissive licenses: Allow for extensive use, including commercialization and redistribution, with minimal restrictions (e.g., the Apache or BSD licenses).

Copyleft licenses: Require that any modified versions of the software also be released under the same or a similar open-source license (e.g., the GNU General Public License).

Limitations

Support may vary: While the community can be helpful, dedicated support may not always be available or as immediate as with commercial, closed-source software.

Potential for complexity: Some open-source projects can be less user-friendly due to their focus on functionality over ease of use.

Requires expertise: Implementing and maintaining open-source software may require in-house technical expertise.