If someone refers to open source software development, most people respond with some kind of question and don’t really know what you are talking about. Not unlike the development of a neighborhood, open source software development revolves around community. Open source is very much the opposite of the usual forms of software development, where a company strictly focuses production for the benefit of their own use and then guards the information, putting restrictions on anyone making changes or adapting it. The focus of open source software development is to allow access and allow the community to collaborate and create a better product that works well and can be adapted for anyone to use.
In open source, the code that makes up the software is made available for anyone to look at, manipulate, add on, modify or whatever else one can think to do with it. In other words, the community works together to develop the product for the benefit of the community. One person’s success is the community’s success and that can be built on again and again. A couple of well-known open source software programs are Firefox and Linux. There probably isn’t a better example of open source software design and community than the Linux creation.
So, where is the money in the business? Who makes the big bucks? That is part of the difference. Open source software development is not absent of money, but it is not always the focus and for many it is not the main benefit. The benefits of maintaining a good community is in being a part of that community. It is not only recognition, but the understanding that one is working toward a better existence and not only for oneself. People who work in the open source arena often do it because they like to and feel good about being a part of it.