CONCEPT

Open Source

Open source is a way of making software in which the source code is publicly available and can be studied, modified, and redistributed under a licence. It is the operating model of most modern infrastructure.

Term coined: 1998

CONCEPTOpen Source

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Term coined: 1998

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5 articles

Companies6 minUpdated Jun 22, 2025

GitHub and open source

GitHub did not invent Git. It made Git social — and turned open source into a public activity.

Technology7 minUpdated May 30, 2025

Rust and memory safety

Rust proves you can have C-level performance and still catch memory bugs at compile time.

Technology6 minUpdated May 8, 2025

Postgres: the durable database

PostgreSQL has been in continuous development since the 1980s. Most of its features are older than most of its users.

Concepts6 minUpdated Feb 11, 2025

Open source, explained

Open source is not a synonym for free. It is a specific promise about what users can do with the software.

Technology6 minUpdated Jan 5, 2025

Linux: the operating system of the internet

Linux is not a company or a product. It is a kernel maintained by thousands of developers, wrapped into hundreds of distributions.

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