Free Software Ideology
Many people are wondering how there can be a whole world of free software, a huge number of serious programs for the use of which authors do not require money from users, and even make the source code open to the whole world.
Moreover, new supporters are joining the free software community with unprecedented speed. Are they crazy? Ready to work for food?
Not.
Knowledge
The secret is that the future of free software. As the Inquisition once persecuted scientists, forbidding them to do science, so now large commercial companies impede progress, limiting it to locking knowledge into "corporate secrets", protecting patents, closed source code and unjustified prices for the finished product.
In free software, it's the other way around. The result, obtained once, becomes available to everyone, and there is no need to reinvent the wheel. This colossal move promotes the exchange of accumulated knowledge between people. In a closed software environment, we often see several similar programs made from scratch that compete with each other. And their developers had to duplicate the same thing many times. In the free software world, the work of the same number of developers would bring more fruit.
A simple example - who will solve 10 problems in mathematics faster? Ten people together, or each separately.
')
Errors
We all know that there are errors in the software. More or less, but there is. Flaws, unrecorded situations, non-optimal solutions, etc. In free software, there is a law that says: "With a sufficient number of eyes, all errors are on the surface."
In addition, imagine which code will be better, the one that besides you will be seen only by your colleagues in a closed company, or the code that hundreds of interested members of the community will see. It's clear that in the second case you will write it better. In order not to disgrace. And so that others understand. And this affects the quality of programs.
Money
Should free software developers eat? Dress? Love women and give them gifts? Yes. What do free software developers earn? With software developers to order everything is clear. And what about those who write free boxed software.
Here are a few ways.
1. Community and charity.
There are communities that support developers. Example - GNOME Foundation, Mozilla Foundation, Apache Foundation. If there is a worthwhile program under GNOME, then money can be allocated for its development from the community of the gnome community. And community communities are replenished, for example, with distribution makers and private donations.
2.Support and updates.
Distribution vendors often feed on this. Part of the money giving the communities that are engaged in software development.
Of course, with this approach it is impossible to earn billions. But money is not happiness, right?
As said Torvalds, just for fun.
Moreover, new supporters are joining the free software community with unprecedented speed. Are they crazy? Ready to work for food?
Not.
Knowledge
The secret is that the future of free software. As the Inquisition once persecuted scientists, forbidding them to do science, so now large commercial companies impede progress, limiting it to locking knowledge into "corporate secrets", protecting patents, closed source code and unjustified prices for the finished product.
In free software, it's the other way around. The result, obtained once, becomes available to everyone, and there is no need to reinvent the wheel. This colossal move promotes the exchange of accumulated knowledge between people. In a closed software environment, we often see several similar programs made from scratch that compete with each other. And their developers had to duplicate the same thing many times. In the free software world, the work of the same number of developers would bring more fruit.
A simple example - who will solve 10 problems in mathematics faster? Ten people together, or each separately.
')
Errors
We all know that there are errors in the software. More or less, but there is. Flaws, unrecorded situations, non-optimal solutions, etc. In free software, there is a law that says: "With a sufficient number of eyes, all errors are on the surface."
In addition, imagine which code will be better, the one that besides you will be seen only by your colleagues in a closed company, or the code that hundreds of interested members of the community will see. It's clear that in the second case you will write it better. In order not to disgrace. And so that others understand. And this affects the quality of programs.
Money
Should free software developers eat? Dress? Love women and give them gifts? Yes. What do free software developers earn? With software developers to order everything is clear. And what about those who write free boxed software.
Here are a few ways.
1. Community and charity.
There are communities that support developers. Example - GNOME Foundation, Mozilla Foundation, Apache Foundation. If there is a worthwhile program under GNOME, then money can be allocated for its development from the community of the gnome community. And community communities are replenished, for example, with distribution makers and private donations.
2.Support and updates.
Distribution vendors often feed on this. Part of the money giving the communities that are engaged in software development.
Of course, with this approach it is impossible to earn billions. But money is not happiness, right?
As said Torvalds, just for fun.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/8496/
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