Can a computer science community get the same benefits if they use proprietary software?
The answer is no because of the fact that the source code of proprietary software is unavailable. Open Source has benefits for a CS community because of the availability of its source code. Proprietary software obscures the inner workings of software. Computer scientists should not trust the proprietary software they use if they cannot scrutinize and inspect the source code. If proprietary software is utilized in computer science classes, then the computer science students become merely users of software. Consider an operating systems class in which students study the theories and concepts of the design and use of operating systems. They can appreciate what they learn theoretically if they read the code of the kernel of an operating system and possibly modify or add a new feature. This will ensure that they do understand the theories and know how to apply them. If the class uses a closed and proprietary software, such as Windows NT or XP, they will not be able to study how the kernel o
