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Until today, I have always used the terms open source and open source software i

ID: 661405 • Letter: U

Question

Until today, I have always used the terms open source and open source software interchangeably. But then I read Phil Haack's blog post in which he suggests that the two terms are not necessarily referring to the same thing. He proposes the following definitions:

Open Source Software is source code which is licensed under a license that meets the Open Source Definition.

Open Source is a development methodology which includes certain characteristics:

Developed in the open with community involvement
The team accepts contributions that meet its standards
The end product has an open source license. This encompasses open source software, open source hardware, etc.
So Phil argues that the end product of open source development is open source software, but open source software is not necessarily the product of open source development. Since he also mentions that there are many different understandings of what open source means, what do you think about these definitions? Do you agree with the distinction he has made?

Explanation / Answer

Open Source Software is Open Source but not all Open Source is Open Source Software.

There is Open Source Hardware, Open Source Robotics, etc. It is a philosophy that can be applied to almost anything. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source

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