All about FOSS and GitHub

FOSS

What is FOSS?

Free and open-source software (FOSS) is software that are both free as well as open-source software. Anyone is freely licensed to use, copy, study, and change the software in any way, and the source code is openly shared so that people are encouraged to voluntarily improve the design of the software. In contrast proprietary software, the other kind of software, is under restrictive copyright and the source code is usually hidden from the users. Examples of open source products include Open Office, the internet browser Mozilla Firefox, Wikipedia, the GNU/Linux operating system and its derivative Android, an operating system for mobile devices.

Advantages of FOSS

There are pros as well as cons in using FOSS. The benefits or pros of using FOSS can include decreased software costs, increased security and stability (especially in regard to malware), protecting privacy, education, and giving users more control over their own hardware. Free, open-source operating systems such as Linux and descendants of BSD are widely utilized today, powering millions of servers, desktops, smartphones (e.g. Android), and other devices. Free software licenses and open-source licenses are used by many software packages. The Free software movement and the open-source software movement are online social movements behind widespread production and adoption of FOSS.

Disadvantages of FOSS

Cons or disadvantages of FOSS are they might not be as user-friendly as commercial versions, and they don’t come with extensive support. Although the open source software itself is mostly free, there may still be some indirect costs involved, such as paying for external support. Another disadvantage is although having an open system means that there are many people identifying bugs and fixing them, it also means that malicious users can potentially view it and exploit any vulnerabilities.

Leading FOSS companies in the world

The leading Open source companies in the world are Red Hat, MySQL, Sourcefire, Xensource, Springsource, JBoss and Zimbra. WSO2 (SL) is an immerging open source company which is based in Sri Lanka.

 

GITHUB

What id GitHub?

GitHub is a web-based hosting service for version control using git. It is mostly used for computer code. It offers all of the distributed version control and source code management functionality of Git as well as adding its own features.

The “Git” in GitHub

To understand GitHub, you must first have an understanding of Git. Git is an open-source version control system that was started by Linus Trovalds—the same person who created Linux. Git is similar to other version control systems—Subversion, CVS, and Mercurial to name a few.

So, Git is a version control system, but what does that mean? When developers create something (an app, for example), they make constant changes to the code, releasing new versions up to and after the first official (non-beta) release.

Version control systems keep these revisions straight, storing the modifications in a central repository. This allows developers to easily collaborate, as they can download a new version of the software, make changes, and upload the newest revision. Every developer can see these new changes, download them, and contribute.

Similarly, people who have nothing to do with the development of a project can still download the files and use them. Most Linux users should be familiar with this process, as using Git, Subversion, or some other similar method is pretty common for downloading needed files—especially in preparation for compiling a program from source code .

Git is the preferred version control system of most developers, since it has multiple advantages over the other systems available. It stores file changes more efficiently and ensures file integrity better. If you’re interested in knowing the details, the Git basics page has a thorough explanation on how Git works.

The “Hub” in GitHub

We’ve established that Git is a version control system, similar but better than the many alternatives available. So, what makes GitHub so special? Git is a command-line tool, but the center around which all things involving Git revolve is the hub—GitHub.com—where developers store their projects and network with like minded people.

sources:

https://www.howtogeek.com/180167/htg-explains-what-is-github-and-what-do-geeks-use-it-for/

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foss
 

- INUKA BATAWALA