Open vs Closed Systems

Programs and their software, including but not limited to: text editors, games, browsers, and operating systems, are created by using programming code. Programmers write the code, called source code, which is then compiled into executable code, which results in the program a user ultimately runs on their system. There are many operating systems available for a variety of purposes (business, personal, industrial) and some of these operating systems are closed source, while others are open. Simply put, a closed source system is one in which the source code is not visible to the user while an open source system’s source code is visible to the user. “Closed-source programs are owned by someone (or some organization) and distributed through a variety of retail channels including the owner's website.” (Damicon, 2009) Open source systems grant users the right to access the source code and closed source systems limit users access, often because the software was purchased. Open source systems allow the user to see how a program or system has been implement while also allowing the user to tweak, refine, and redistribute the software.

The main difference between open and closed source systems are not just having access to the source code however! Closed source operating systems are usually developed and designed by corporations and other organizations and are only worked on by individuals within those corporations/ organizations. Open source systems are usually created and developed by a community of collaborative individuals. Due to the access of code in an open source system, consumers and users of the system are able to find bugs and fix them. This typically results in open source systems being more regularly updated than the closed source system.

There are many different closed source programs and systems in use on a daily basis. Apple OS X and Microsoft Windows / Office are all closed source and they all provide programs and other software for a multitude of different...