Why are programs released open source?
Open source, though a technical term relating to licensing is becoming more a paradigm under which to develop software. There are three main reasons software projects are open sourced. First, it allows for a large developer base. Such is with Sakai. The Sakai Foundation employs only four people, but there are over 50 developers and a QA team involved in its production. Secondly is a quality argument. That is, that an open source program will necessarily tend toward a better product because more people are able to pick apart its insides. As is often noted with Microsoft Internet Explorer, countless bugs and security flaws are found quickly in new versions. These holes are patched only under the dictation of Microsoft, whereas the open source competitor Mozilla Firefox has an expedient pipeline for fixing bugs because more people can find them more easily. Many believe this will push open systems to a more secure state. The last major argument for open source is a socio-political one. Gr
