For its application to software, see Open-source software. For the form of intelligence collection management, see Open-source intelligence. For other uses, see Open source (disambiguation). In production and development, open source as a development model promotes a) universal access via free license to a product's design or blueprint, and b) universal redistribution of that design or blueprint,
including subsequent improvements to it by anyone.[1] Before the phrase open source became widely adopted, developers and producers used a variety of terms for the concept; open source gained hold with the rise of the Internet, and the attendant need for massive retooling of the computing source code.[2] Opening the source code enabled a self-enhancing diversity of production models, communication paths, and interactive communities.[3] The open-source software movement arose to clarify the environment that the new copyright, licensing, domain, and consumer issues created.[citation needed]
Generally, open source refers to a computer program in which the source code is available to the general public for use and/or modification from its original design. Open-source code is typically created as a collaborative effort in which programmers improve upon the code and share the changes within the community. Open source sprouted in the technological community as a response to proprietary software owned by corporations. The open-source model includes the concept of concurrent yet different agendas and differing approaches in production, in contrast with more centralized models of development such as those typically used in commercial software companies.[4][page needed] A main principle and practice of open-source software development is peer production by bartering and collaboration, with the end-product, source-material, "blueprints", and documentation available at no cost to the public. This model is also used for the development of open-source-appropriate technologies,[5] solar photovoltaic technology [6] and open-source drug discovery.[7][8]
