Open Source and Close Source

Question 1

What is closed software?

Answer 1

Is owned by a commercial organisation

Question 2

What is a closed source?

Answer 2

It is not to publish the source code itself, but to compile it into a set of machine code instructions in an executable file, and sell that file to customers

Question 3

What is an advantage of closed source software?

Answer 3

It is very difficult for anyone to work out what the original source code was just from looking at an executable file

Question 4

What are the 3 main benefits with closed source software?

Answer 4

• The commercial organisation has invested money into
  developing the software to profit from their
  investment. With less possibility of theft or imitation, it
  is much easier to make closed source software
  profitable
• Commercial applications tend to be quite polished
  compared to an equivalent “open source” application.
  Documentation and help tends to be better as well
• They also offer formal support in the form of regular
  software updates and perhaps direct customer
  support for a specific period after purchase

Question 5

What is different with open source compared to closed source?

Answer 5

The source code itself is available to the public. The source code is free

Question 6

Give 2 reasons why people make their code open source

Answer 6

People may make their software open source out of a sense of altruism (the belief that the well-being of others is equally, if not more, important than the well-being of the self)
They want their work to be used by as many people as possible

Question 7

Give 4 examples of open source software

Answer 7

GIMP - a photo editing application
Open Office - an office suite with word processor, spreadsheet and database
Audacity - an audio recording and editing application
Linux - operating system

Question 8

What is the creative commons licence?

Answer 8

A licence that could be customised to fit the needs of the developer and the consumer, where you pick and choose which restrictions you want to add, so that you can say exactly how much freedom you want to give people to use and adapt your work

Question 9

What is Attribution, in the creative commons licence?

Answer 9

Anyone who uses your work has to give you credit for it

Question 10

What is Non-commercial, in the creative commons licence?

Answer 10

People can’t use your work in things they want to sell, and they can’t sell your work by itself either

Question 11

What is Non-derivative, in the creative commons licence?

Answer 11

People can copy your work, but they’re not allowed to modify it

Question 12

What is Share-Alike, in the creative commons licence?

Answer 12

People can modify your work, but only if they make the modified work available to others with the same licence you used

Question 13

What are the 4 licences included in the creative commons licence?

Answer 13

Attribution
Non-commercial
Non-derivative
Share-Alike

Question 14

Compare the public availability of open and closed software

Answer 14

Open source code is publicly available

Closed source code is trade secret

Question 15

Compare the costs of open and closed software

Answer 15

Open source is free

Closed source is not free

Question 16

Compare the licences of open and closed software

Answer 16

Open source licence allows code to be copied and modified

Closed source licence restricts copying and modifying

Question 17

Compare the interface of open and closed software

Answer 17

Open source has a less polished interface

Closed source has a polished interface to attract customers

Question 18

Compare who writes the code of open and closed software

Answer 18

Open source is written by expert volunteers

Closed source is written by paid software programmers

Question 19

Compare the documentation and technical support of open and closed source

Answer 19

Open source documentation and technical support limited

Closed source documentation usually good and support is formally available

Question 20

Compare the secureness of open and closed source

Answer 20

Open source is less secure as the source code can be deliberately examined for weaknesses and taken advantage of
Closed source is more secure as the source code is not available so weaknesses are not so apparent

Question 21

Compare the deadlines for new updates of open and closed source

Answer 21

Open source has no enforced deadlines as the code is written by volunteers
Closed source has strict deadlines for programmers to make new releases

Question 22

Compare costs of development for open and closed source

Answer 22

Open source has lower costs of development as the programmers work for free
Closed source has higher development costs as programmers are paid

Question 23

Who is open source most popular with?

Answer 23

Is very popular with private citizens and also widely used in commercial organisations